Sensitivity of the quidel sofia fluorescent immunoassay compared with 2 nucleic acid assays and viral culture to detect pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09

To confirm a diagnosis of influenza at the point of care, healthcare professionals may rely on rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs). RIDTs have low to moderate sensitivity compared with viral culture or real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). With the resurgence of the influenza A (Flu A; subtype H1N1) pandemic 2009 (pdm09) strain in the years 2013 and 2014, we evaluated the accuracy of the United State Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Sofia Influenza A+B Fluorescent Immunoassay to detect epidemic Flu A(H1N1)pdm09 in specimens from the upper-respiratory tract. During a 3-month period, we collected 40 specimens that tested positive via PCR and/or culture for Flu A of the H1N1 pdm09 subtype. Of the 40 specimens, 27 tested positive (67.5%) via Sofia assay for Flu A. Of the 13 specimens with a negative result via Sofia testing, 4 had coinfection, as detected by the GenMark Diagnostics eSensor Respiratory Viral Panel. This sensitivity of the RIDT Sofia assay to detect Flu A(H1N1) pdm09 was comparable to previously reported sensitivities ranging from 10% to 75% for older RIDTs.