Ruling Out Novel H1N1 Influenza Virus Infection with Direct Fluorescent Antigen Testing

Abstract

We evaluated the ability of direct fluorescent antigen (DFA) influenza tests to identify novel H1N1 influenza virus. DFA results were compared with polymerase chain reaction results. The negative predictive value of DFA testing was at least 96%. Therefore, when performed on specimens of adequate quality, DFA tests can effectively rule out infection due to novel H1N1 virus.