Clinical Laboratories Deal with Soaring Demand for Swine Flu Testing
Tidal wave of Swine Flu Specimens Puts Stress Public Health Laboratories
In the United States, the number of confirmed and suspected cases of A/H1N1 influenza continues to increase day by day, although the overall number is limited. As of today, Thursday, the CDC reports 109 confirmed A/H1N1 cases in 11 states, and one confirmed fatality in the state of Texas.
Clinical laboratories across the United States are swamped with phone calls from physicians’ offices and requests for collection supplies. In recent days, a tsunami of influenza specimens has begun to tax the ability of medical laboratories to perform this testing and provide results within normal turnaround times.
