Warnex’s H1N1 test results in as little as 8 hours

A story written by Pauline Tam that appears in today’s Ottawa Citizen, chronicles the ongoing struggle by Pembroke-Ont. family MD, Dr. Ah Yin Eng, to get his own influenza A H1N1 test result.  The good doctor, despite being 81, continues to practise family medicine part-time.  He suspects, but needs to confirm, that he was already hit by H1N1, from which he has since recovered.  If that’s the case, he would have developed immunity to the virus and likely would not need to be vaccinated.  Nor would he have to worry about being exposed to the virus from patients with flu-like symptoms, thus leaving him free to work extra shifts if more doctors were needed to respond to sudden flue outbreaks.  Unfortunately, that confirmation is not readily available.

Aside from the infection control, vaccination and privacy issues raised in the Tam article, it occurred to us at biotuesdays.com that Dr. Eng might have been better off had he been under the employ of a large industrial concern instead of being a well-intentioned (and sprightly) family physician.

Last month, Warnex (TSX: WNX) announced that its Medical Laboratories division had signed a distribution agreement with Biron-Laboratoire médical, a Quebec-based provider of diagnostic and medical treatment services. Biron is promoting and distributing Warnex’s test for the H1N1 virus, specifically targeting industrial companies.   At the time of the announcement, Warnex’s President and CEO, Mark Busang, said the Company’s test offers results in as little as eight hours, allowing employees to receive diagnosis earlier and thereby “allowing company decision makers to rapidly take appropriate action to limit the spread of infection to the rest of their workforce.”

Warnex uses RT-PCR technology to specifically detect the influenza A virus including the A H1N1 strain. The company also recently launched a test that specifically detects the H275Y mutation of the pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus, which is associated with resistance to Tamiflu®, a drug used for the treatment and prevention of the flu.