Report of the 9th WHO Working Group Meeting on RT-PCR for the Detection and Subtyping of Influenza Viruses

Overview

Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) technology has become the established basis of both influenza virologic surveillance and diagnostic activities in a broad range of laboratories that are part of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). rRT-PCR is a rapid and sensitive method to detect influenza genetic material in clinical specimens, and for many years it has been the laboratory test of first choice for the rapid detection of influenza viruses with pandemic potential. The emergence of human cases of influenza A(H7N9) virus infections in China in 2013, and the various widely detected A/H5 reassortants – A(H5N6), A(H5N5), A(H5N8) and A(H5N2) – have highlighted the importance of having methods available to rapidly detect and subtype non-seasonal viruses.