SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City-based ARUP Laboratories announced Monday the availability to clients nationwide of a combined test to detect and differentiate COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in individuals with respiratory symptoms consistent with coronavirus.
“We are proud to offer this test, which is one of the first available to test for all four viruses,” said Adam Barker, PhD, director of ARUP’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Laboratory, by way of a news release. “This single test is a simple, accurate way to determine which virus is the cause of illness as the flu and RSV seasons get underway amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The test is the first offered in the United States to be developed using Thermo Fisher Scientific’s TaqMan SARS-CoV-2, Flu A/B, RSV multiplex primer and probes and run on the QuantStudio Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) platform, the news release said.
ARUP’s Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV by NAA test detects ribonucleic acid (RNA) from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as RNA from the influenza A and B viruses and RSV. A qualitative test, it also differentiates between the viruses, although it does not differentiate between influenza A and B.
“The test can be performed on specimens collected using a deep nasal swab, or on specimens collected from the back of the throat and the front of both nostrils,” the news release said. “It adds to ARUP’s menu of COVID-19-related tests, which includes a molecular diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can be performed on multiple specimen types, including saliva.”
ARUP also offers two IgG antibody tests to detect previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2, along with numerous tests that help guide treatment of patients with the virus.
“The challenge clinicians face as we enter flu season is unparalleled, even if flu and RSV activity remain low,” said ARUP CEO Sherrie L. Perkins, MD, PhD. “We’re pleased that this combination test will help them provide the best patient care possible as the pandemic persists.”
Founded in 1984, ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory and a nonprofit enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology. ARUP offers more than 3,000 tests and test combinations, ranging from routine screening tests to esoteric molecular and genetic assays.
