Accurun 515 is designed specifically for laboratories performing Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) genotyping assays for detection of drug resistant strains of virus in infected individuals.
     Many HIV infected individuals will develop or be infected with mutant strains of virus that are resistant to one or more of the drugs they are taking. Laboratory tests to detect mutant virus strains and predict drug resistance have become increasingly important in the treatment of HIV infected individuals. Accurun 515 is designed to allow laboratories to monitor the performance of these essential tests.
     The routine use of quality control products allows laboratories to monitor day-to-day test variation, lot-to-lot acceptance of test kits, and operator performance. Quality control samples can assist laboratories in identifying problems or inconsistencies before they cause expensive delay, testing disruptions, or medical errors.
     Accurun 515 contains a clinically relevant concentration of whole HIV virus diluted in defibrinated human plasma. Accurun 515 is designed to go through the critical lysis and extraction steps that patient samples go through but that are not monitored with the controls supplied by the test manufacturer. Accurun 515 has an approximate 50/50 percent mixture of mutant and non-mutant virus at each mutation site so it checks the laboratory’s ability to detect and interpret mixtures, which are commonly found in patient samples. These characteristics allow the control to be processed in the same manner as a patient sample, while the lab quality controls each step of the test process.
     Accurun 515 has a two-year shelf life when stored frozen at –700 C and is conveniently packaged for use with commercially available and in-house genotyping tests.
Boston Biomedica
www.bbii.com
Keywords: control, infectious disease