The world is currently going through its worst ever outbreak of bird flu. Uniogen’s GenomEra^® Assay Kits detecting influenza A virus will provide fast and reliable results in cases of human infection.

The current outbreaks of avian influenza (also called “bird flu”) have been dominating the news and raising fears since spring and summer 2023.

Avian influenza viruses normally spread among birds, but the increasing number of H5N1 detections among mammals – biologically closer to humans than birds are – raises concern that the virus might adapt to infect humans.

The virus has already caused devastation in animal populations and severely harmed farmers’ livelihoods and the food trade. WHO (World Health Organization) says the further spread of the H5N1 virus will have to be monitored closely.

During our kit development we have included H5N1 control (strain: FluA/Viet Nam/1194/2004 x Puerto Rico/8/1934) to our inclusivity test panel to demonstrate the reliable detection also for the bird flu strains.

To guarantee the safety and performance of the GenomEra^® SARS-CoV-2, Flu A/B +RSV 2.0 Assay Kit (CDX-160-01-20, CDX-160-01-100), we have performed in silico analysis on July 24th, 2023, using the latest sequence data available on GISAID EpiFlu database.

Based on the data available we can conclude that there are no systematic mutations on H5N1 Matrix gene, that would affect the sensitivity of the assay. This means GenomEra^® Assay Kits will provide reliable results in case of possible bird flu epidemic.

GenomEra^® SARS-CoV-2, Flu A/B + RSV and GenomEra^® SARS-CoV-2, Flu A/B + RSV  2.0 Assay Kits are CE marked according to the directive 98/79/EC on in vitro diagnostic medical devices.