The Molecular Diagnostic Branch of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for Ontario, Canada's most densely populated province, is reporting excellent results from public screenings for respiratory virus and pneumobacter detection using the Seeplex respiratory diagnostic test from Seegene Inc, Rockville, Md.

The test is helping the Province of Ontario implement the public health initiative because the product simultaneously detects the most prevalent respiratory infections—virus and bacteria born—in a single test.

The test simultaneously detects 11 different respiratory RNA viruses, two DNA viruses, and five pneumonia bacteria from samples such as nasopharyngeal aspirates, nasopharyngeal swabs, and bronchoalveolar lavage. 
 
Begun in August 2007, Ontario's surveillance programs and related comparison techniques apply two different diagnostic methods for the pandemic studies, and they are using the tests as a third for comparison studies. The Ministry has obtained positive objective results with the tests, citing objective results interpretation, robust reproducibility and the test's high sensitivity and specificity, ease-of-use of the tests,
which require no special training or skills, and not running out of precious
samples because the test detects multiple pathogens with one sample.
 
"The Seeplex respiratory is proving to be an important tool in the active surveillance of respiratory infections," said Jong-Yoon Chun, the company’s founder and CEO. "Antimicrobial drug resistance is a major public health concern and a threat to the effectiveness of existing antimicrobial drugs. Seegene's multi-pathogen Seeplex tests give clinical health care personnel the ability to quickly determine whether a patient's respiratory ailment is caused by a virus or bacteria, and subsequently prescribe the best course of treatment whether an antibiotic, antimicrobial or bed rest."
 
The test detects:
•    Influenza A virus
•    Influenza B virus
•    Human respiratory syncytial virus A
•    Human respiratory syncytial virus B
•    Human parainfluenzae virus 1
•    Human parainfluenzae virus 2
•    Human parainfluenzae virus 3
•    Human coronavirus 229E/NL63
•    Human coronavirus OC43/HKU1
•    Human rhinovirus
•    Human enterovirus
•    Human adenovirus
•    Human bocavirus
•    Legionella pneumoniae
•    Streptococcus pneumoniae
•    Chlamydophila pneumoniae
•    Haemophilus influenzae 
•    Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Seegene is a biotechnology company that specializes in molecular diagnostics and research applications.