FDA approves ProFlu respiratory virus test

MILWAUKEE, Wis. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new respiratory virus test by Prodesse called ProFlu.

ProFlu detects four respiratory viruses in a patient’ respiratory secretions. It can test for the influenza A and B virus and the respiratory syncytial virus A and D. These viruses can influenza, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, the flu, and all can lead to lower respiratory tract infections.

The test can simultaneously detect all four viruses and it can provide test results in as few as three hours, while other diagnostic tests for respiratory viruses are either fast but not as accurate, or are accurate but not as rapid.

Daniel Schultz, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, noted that antiviral drugs are most effective when initiated within the first two days of symptoms. He called the new test “part of the new era of molecular medicine.”