A large-scale study of respiratory virus infection over 2 years using the Luminex xTAGRVP assay.

Traditional methods of detecting and identifying respiratory viruses like cell culture and immunofluorescence are labor intensive, often slow, and are dependent on specimen viability. As a result, there has been a shift in laboratory practices from these methods to molecular-based techniques such as polymerase chain reaction, which can be faster, more sensitive, and less labor intensive than traditional methods. The Food and Drug Administration approved version of the Luminex xTAG respiratory viral panel (RVP) assay detects 12 respiratory viruses simultaneously.

Department of Defense influenza and other respiratory disease surveillance during the 2009 pandemic.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center's Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) supports and oversees surveillance for emerging infectious diseases, including respiratory diseases, of importance to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

Capacity-building efforts by the AFHSC-GEIS program.

Capacity-building initiatives related to public health are defined as developing laboratory infrastructure, strengthening host-country disease surveillance initiatives, transferring technical expertise and training personnel. These initiatives represented a major piece of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) contributions to worldwide emerging infectious disease (EID) surveillance and response. Capacity-building initiatives were undertaken with over 80 local and regional Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Defense, as well as other government entities and institutions worldwide.