Broadband Respiratory Virus Surveillance

摘要

Prompt directed therapy of respiratory infections based on pathogen identification is critical for optimizing patient outcomes. This project aims to develop proactive surveillance systems which recognize disease emergence at the earliest possible stage utilizing the PLEX-ID biosensor for simultaneous detection of a wide range of pathogenic organisms. Tripler Army Medical Center and SAIC collaborated to establish this new disease surveillance technology in the Pacific Regional Medical Command. Results indicated that the PLEX-ID is able to rapidly and reliably detect influenza virus and identify substrains more efficiently than traditional diagnostics. In the second year of the program, a new broader Respiratory Virus Surveillance assay was tested to examine the ability to detect upper respiratory infections beyond influenza. Analysis of specimens collected from patients who presented with respiratory distress symptoms over a 9 month period revealed differential patterns of viruses in different seasons. In addition, specific virus types were more prevalent in certain patient groups. The PLEX-ID technology has proved to be a rapid and comprehensive detection method for viral infections allowing general disease surveillance.