title: Evaluation of the Alere i Influenza A&B assay for rapid identification of influenza A and influenza B viruses.
abstract: The Alere i Influenza A&B assay is a novel isothermal nucleic acid amplification assay capable of detecting and differentiating influenza A and B viruses in approximately 15 min with minimal hands-on time. This study was conducted in order to assess the performance of the Alere i Influenza A&B assay compared to molecular techniques, considered to be gold standard methods, to evaluate the results. A total of 119 nasopharyngeal swabs collected from inpatients with influenza-like illness were included in the study using both archived and prospectively collected samples from adults and children. Prospectively collected samples were also compared to the Alere BinaxNOW® Influenza A & B Card. The overall sensitivity for detection of influenza A and B viruses compared to those of molecular techniques were 65.96 % and 53.33 % respectively, while the specificity was 98.51 % and 95.96 %. Compared to the Alere BinaxNOW® Influenza A & B Card, the Alere i assay is considerably more sensitive for detection of influenza A and B viruses, although both tests demonstrated excellent specificity for diagnosis of influenza viruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Flavia Cecilia
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Chiarella
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Culebras
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel Enrique
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fuentes-Ferrer
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Picazo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009981:Influenza B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral