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The High-risk Influenza Screen Test (HIST) measures an early warning signal ? a single-gene biomarker dubbed IF127 ? released into a patient's bloodstream that mobilises their immune system against serious infection, the researchers reported in the European Respiratory Journal published on Thursday.
The researchers had cracked the genetic code released by immune cells that warn the body of serious infection, such as pneumonia triggered by the influenza virus, found the clinical trial of more than 1000 patients and laboratory testing, culminating in the largest biomarker study of influenza virus infection.
"We're eavesdropping on the immune system to pick up when the body first mounts a defence against a serious, life-threatening, infection," Dr Tang said.
The test's 90 per cent accuracy rate was "unprecedented" for an infectious diseases screening test, Dr Tang said. The risk of missing one in 10 patients with serious infections was a "pretty good trade-off" for such a test, he said.
The researchers had cracked the genetic code released by immune cells that warn the body of serious infection, such as pneumonia triggered by the influenza virus, found the clinical trial of more than 1000 patients and laboratory testing, culminating in the largest biomarker study of influenza virus infection.
"We're eavesdropping on the immune system to pick up when the body first mounts a defence against a serious, life-threatening, infection," Dr Tang said.
The test's 90 per cent accuracy rate was "unprecedented" for an infectious diseases screening test, Dr Tang said. The risk of missing one in 10 patients with serious infections was a "pretty good trade-off" for such a test, he said.
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