Comparative study of nasopharyngeal aspirate and nasal swab specimens for detection of influenza

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Abstract
The neuraminidase inhibitors zanamivir and oseltamivir have been shown to be effective in the treatment of influenza A and B viral infections. Both of these drugs are ineffective against respiratory infections caused by other microbes. Although the onset of influenza is often abrupt with prominent systemic features, the clinical spectrum of this disease is extremely broad and it cannot be reliably distinguished from other respiratory infections on clinical grounds alone.1 To help them decide which patients will benefit from the new treatments for influenza doctors therefore need rapid and sensitive point of care tests to verify the cause of the infection. A nasopharyngeal aspirate is generally considered the best specimen for detection of …