The detection methods of influenza A mainly include RT-PCR and antigen detection. At the beginning of 2023, with the continuation of the COVID-19 epidemic, people's demand for detection of COVID-19 is also increasing. In this process, people began to pay attention to another virus - influenza A. Not long ago, some media reported that the price of influenza A antigen was nearly 30 times higher than that of COVID-19 antigen, which caused widespread concern.
Influenza A is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza A virus. The virus has three different subtypes, H1N1 (A), H2N2 (B) and H3N2 (C). Influenza A virus usually prevails in autumn and winter. The virus spreads quickly and is easy to cause a global epidemic. In the past decades, influenza A has triggered many outbreaks, including the Spanish flu in 1918, the Asian flu in 1957, and the Hong Kong flu in 1968.
Compared with the history of influenza A, COVID-19 is a more new problem. Although COVID-19 has triggered a global epidemic, people still have insufficient understanding of this virus. In the past two years, people have been exploring the transmission law of COVID-19, virus variation and other issues, and also looking for detection methods of COVID-19.
The detection methods of COVID-19 mainly include PCR detection and antigen detection. Antigen detection is a fast and simple detection method, which can obtain results in a short time. The detection method of influenza A virus is slightly different from that of COVID-19. RT-PCR detection is a more accurate detection method, but it needs to be carried out in the laboratory, and the time and cost are relatively high. Antigen detection is a rapid detection method, which can get results in a short time, but the accuracy is not as good as RT-PCR detection.
