March 25, 2004

New Bird Flu Virus Test Kit Developed

Eiken Chemical Co. and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan have jointly developed a reagent to identify the H5 strain of the avian influenza virus within 30 minutes, the company said Thursday.

The Tokyo-based clinical diagnostic agent manufacturer said it would like to launch sales of the reagent for research purposes since collecting the data needed to obtain government approval for the substance is expected to take some time.

The reagent employs the firm's gene-generating technology to quickly determine whether a bird is infected with the H5-strain virus, the firm said.

The reagent is mixed with the bird's mucus and heated to around 65 C. If the bird is infected the reagent will get cloudy within 30 minutes.

Simple conventional checks can detect the infection but cannot identify the strain.

The highly virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, which has hit the poultry industry in Japan and elsewhere, is a variation of the H5 strain.