SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the benefits offered by the use of a molecular assay technique to identify respiratory viruses.
Based on World Health Organization (WHO) figures, acute respiratory infections cause two-million deaths every year worldwide. Between 250,000 and 500,000 of these deaths are attributable to flu. In the elderly, influenza-related pneumonia remains a leading cause of infectious disease-related death.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of serious respiratory illness in young children and can result in infantile bronchiolitis, which is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The worldwide death rate due to RSV is around 160,000 every year.
The clinical symptoms of respiratory infection, caused by different viruses’ can overlap significantly. These include:
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