In light of the recent swine flu outbreak, employees at a local company are working hard to distribute influenza detection kits to virology labs worldwide.
Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., 1055 East State St., is the world's largest cell-culture provider, supplying more than 700 labs in 28 countries, Assistant Director of Marketing Mike Kornmiller said. The company has been distributing influenza detection kits for nearly 10 years, he added.
The kits detect all influenza viruses including the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, he said.
Because of the recent outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deployed detection kits to every state, Dr. Anne Schuchat said in a news briefing yesterday. Schuchat is the interim deputy director for science and public health program at the CDC.
So far, 29 of the states are doing their own confirmatory testing for the H1N1 strain, she added.
There have been seven confirmed cases of swine flu in Ohio and over 3,000 cases and three deaths nationwide, according to yesterday's report from the Ohio Department of Health.
Testing is a critical part of understanding the situation around the world
Schuchat said.
With detection kits in high demand, Diagnostic Hybrids' kit sales have skyrocketed in the past several weeks.
Our shipments are four times what they usually would be said Kornmiller, adding that most of the purchases come from hospital virology labs.
The kits come in two parts: the swabs and the actual detection kit, which is an FDA-cleared device, Kornmiller said.
A single test kit can cost $600 to $700, though most customers receive discounts for buying the kits in bulk, he added.
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Laura Service
