DRDO Develops Swine Flu Detection Kit

India’s premier defence laboratory, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has put together a detection kit for the H1N1 Swine flu virus. It will also be possible to transfer the technology for commercial use according to Defence Minister A K Antony.

‘The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a rapid and cost-effective swine flu virus specific isothermal gene amplification assay for reliable and early clinical diagnosis of H1N1 in human patients,’ the minister was reported as having said according to this report.

This methodology developed by the DRDO is a single-tube one. It is very cost-effective as compared to WHO approved Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommended real-time Reverse Transcriptase (RT) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test system. The assay is based on the principle of the isothermal gene amplification protocol. No expensive real-time PCR equipment is required as the result can be monitored by the naked eye, the minister added.

The national death toll from Swine flu has now reached 555. One death was reported from Maharashtra, and one from Rajasthan. 221 have died in Maharashtra from Swine Flu and 120 have succumbed in Karnataka. 237 fresh cases of Swine Flu were reported across the country, taking the number of affected people to 16,820.

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