Automated Real-Time PCR Detection of Tickborne Diseases Using the Panther Fusion Open Access System.

The incidence of tickborne infections in the United States has risen significantly. Automation is needed for the increasing demand for testing. The Panther Fusion (Fusion) has an Open Access functionality to perform lab developed tests (LDTs) on a fully automated system.

Lack of active SARS-CoV-2 virus in a subset of PCR-positive COVID-19 congregate care patients.

Highly sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) designed to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA are the standard of care for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, the accuracy of these methods for the quantitation of active virus rather than non-infectious RNA fragments that can persist for extended periods of time has been unclear. This issue is particularly relevant for congregate care patients who are unable to return to their home residence until fully negative by NAATs.

The Panther Fusion System with Open Access Functionality for Laboratory-Developed Tests for Influenza A Virus Subtyping.

Nucleic acid amplification tests, such as PCR, are the method of choice for respiratory virus testing, due to their superior diagnostic accuracy and fast turnaround time. The Panther Fusion (Fusion; Hologic) system has an array of highly sensitive diagnostic (IVD) real-time PCR assays for respiratory viruses, including an assay for influenza A (FluA) virus, influenza B (FluB) virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (FFABR assay). The Fusion system has Open Access functionality to perform laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) alongside IVD assays.

Enterovirus D68 outbreak detection through a syndromic disease epidemiology network.

Background: In 2014, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) was responsible for an outbreak of severe respiratory illness in children, with 1,153 EV-D68 cases reported across 49 states. Despite this, there is no commercial assay for its detection in routine clinical care. BioFire® Syndromic Trends (Trend) is an epidemiological network that collects, in near real-time, deidentified.

Panther Fusion® Respiratory Virus Assays for the detection of influenza and other respiratory viruses.

Background: Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as PCR, are preferred for respiratory virus testing, due to superior diagnostic accuracy and faster turnaround time. Panther Fusion® Respiratory Assays (Fusion), which includes FluA/B/RSV (FFABR), Paraflu and AdV/hMPV/RV, offers a modular approach to syndromic testing on a fully automated platform while improving gene targets and expanding the test menu.

Objectives And Study Design: We evaluated Fusion using 275 consecutive nasopharyngeal specimens previously used in an analysis of five PCRs, as well as 225 archived specimens.