Direct fluorescent-antibody testing followed by culture for diagnosis of 2009 H1N1 influenza A

Abstract

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza A outbreak, 773 children were tested for influenza by direct fluorescentantibody testing with PCR confirmation. Direct fluorescent-antibody testing has a specificity of 99.6% but a sensitivity of only 65.0%. Physicians should recognize diagnostic limitations of direct fluorescent-antibody testing, which missed one-third of infected individuals. Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.