A multiple real-time fluorescent test reagent kit was successfully developed in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, for testing H5, H7 and H9 subgroups of the bird flu virus, according to the appraisal team.

Dubbed RT-PCR, the reagent kit is able to test three subgroups of the avian influenza virus simultaneously, instead of only one subgroup at a time as in the past, said Tian Bo, academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the appraisal team.

This is believed to be the first reagent kit in the world that is capable of testing multiple subgroups of the bird flu virus simultaneously.

The appraisal team found the test reagent kit efficient and easy to use. They said it is suitable for poultry quarantine, human disease control and epidemiological investigation.

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a severe infectious disease of waterfowl and poultry that has jumped to humans. It causes severe illness and even death in people because it is new to the human immune system thus there is no natural defense against it.

With its dense network of waterways, Shenzhen is a temporary home to many migratory birds and also a major supplier of live poultry for adjacent Hong Kong.

As early as August 2002, the local quarantine bureau began to employ the fluorescent RT-PCR test to examine poultry to be supplied to Hong Kong. It took about four hours to obtain the test results.

To lower the cost and raise test efficiency, researchers from the local entry and exit quarantine bureau have worked with their fellows at the Shenzhen Taitai Gene Company for three months to develop a new fluorescent RT-PCP reagent kit.

The result, with independent patent, meets international standards, according to Liu Shengli, head of the quarantine bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2004)