Current test of flu blood may lead to pneumonia

Sydney: For the first time, Australian researchers have developed a blood test that can measure 91 percent accuracy, which influenza patients can effectively develop grave secondary infections such as pneumonia. The body of the high-risk influenza screen test (HIST) measures the body's "early warning signal" to initiate a "fight" against the patient's body's infection of the immune system. "Influenza sometimes kill other healthy people in their lives," said Benjamin Tang from Napon Hospital in New South Wales, Australia.

This test requires only one blood and can be expected within a few hours, with 91% accuracy, infections such as pneumonia to patients with influenza. Previously doctors could only test for influenza infection but didn't know which patients would be at risk of rapid deterioration. "By using the HIST Test we're eavesdropping on the immune system to pick up when the body first mounts a defence against a serious, life-threatening infection," Tang added. The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, deciphered the genetic codes that immune cells release to warn the body of a serious infection, such as pneumonia, caused by the influenza virus.

In addition, HIST will be useful during pandemics when there is a delay in developing vaccines for strains of the influenza virus. "We can now test people during a pandemic, or outbreak of a new flu virus, to identify those who might be at greater risk of developing serious complications. The test works with any flu infection as it looks at how the body reacts rather than the strain or type of virus," Tang explained. The early warning can provide a greater chance to treat the patient's infection before it overwhelms them and potentially kills them, the researchers said.