SpeeDx Pty Ltd has received marketing clearance for its PlexPCR RespiVirus test from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
The test can detect 11 viral respiratory-illness causing pathogens and allows laboratories to process more samples in an 8-hour shift compared to standard in-house test methods, according to a company press release.
The respiratory virus test includes automated reporting software to further improve laboratory productivity and speed up result reporting processes.
“We are so pleased to be in a position to support Australian laboratories for what is already proving to be a very busy flu season,” said Colin Denver, SpeeDx CEO. “The workflow advantages afforded by PlexPCR RespiVirus means more patient results can be reported over the course of a work day compared to standard technologies.”
Australian surveillance has recorded an unprecedented number of influenza cases in 2019 – with over four times the number of confirmed cases, compared with the first quarter year average. These initial numbers are well above those recorded in the early parts of 2017, where a record 233,453 cases were reported for the season.
Laboratories were overwhelmed with the testing volumes during that time, and based on the unusual start of 2019, authorities are preparing for another potentially devastating season. The peak of the 2017 epidemic resulted in almost 30,000 hospital admissions and 745 deaths, now some experts are predicting up to 4,000 deaths could be possible across the 2019 season.
The SpeeDx PlexPCR RespiVirus test detects important respiratory pathogens including Influenza A, Influenza B, Rhinovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Viruses (A & B), Human metapneumovirus, Adenovirus, and Human parainfluenza viruses 1, 2, 3 and 4. Results from the test can assist in appropriate patient care and community/outbreak management.
