A multiple real-time fluorescent test reagent kit was
successfully developed in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong
Province, for testing H5, H7 and H9 subgroups of the bird flu
virus, according to the appraisal team.
Dubbed RT-PCR, the reagent kit is able to test three subgroups
of the avian influenza virus simultaneously, instead of only one
subgroup at a time as in the past, said Tian Bo, academician with
the Chinese
Academy of Sciences and head of the appraisal team.
This is believed to be the first reagent kit in the world that
is capable of testing multiple subgroups of the bird flu virus
simultaneously.
The appraisal team found the test reagent kit efficient and easy
to use. They said it is suitable for poultry quarantine, human
disease control and epidemiological investigation.
Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a severe infectious disease of
waterfowl and poultry that has jumped to humans. It causes severe
illness and even death in people because it is new to the human
immune system thus there is no natural defense against it.
With its dense network of waterways, Shenzhen is a temporary
home to many migratory birds and also a major supplier of live
poultry for adjacent Hong Kong.
As early as August 2002, the local quarantine bureau began to
employ the fluorescent RT-PCR test to examine poultry to be
supplied to Hong Kong. It took about four hours to obtain the test
results.
To lower the cost and raise test efficiency, researchers from
the local entry and exit quarantine bureau have worked with their
fellows at the Shenzhen Taitai Gene Company for three months to
develop a new fluorescent RT-PCP reagent kit.
The result, with independent patent, meets international
standards, according to Liu Shengli, head of the quarantine
bureau.
(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2004)