Forbes Calamity Prevention blog

There is no such thing as a blood test for influenza. If you’ve been searching for one, you can stop.

Influenza is a respiratory disease, so specimens preferred for influenza testing come from the respiratory system: nasopharyngeal swab (from the upper part of the throat behind the nose), nasopharyngeal swab combined with oropharyngeal swab (from the cavity at the back of your mouth), or â€œnasal aspirateâ€ (translation: â€œsnotâ€). If specimens from those locations cannot be collected, a nasal swab or oropharyngeal swab by itself will work.But not a blood sample.

You can read the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on collecting, storing, processing and testing influenza specimens. Swabs, not syringes.

As a colleague related in his account of being tested for H1N1 last month, Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore took a blood sample from him when he went to be tested for influenza. When he asked why, he was told only that it was ‘to be sure you don’t have anything else.’

If medical personnel draw a sample of your blood for testing, they arenâ€™t looking for influenza. They might be looking for bacterial infections like typhoid or sepsis, viral infections found in Asia like malaria, dengue fever, hepatitis, yellow fever , or some other blood-borne pathogen. They could also be looking for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), of course, the cause of AIDS.

In many countries, hospitals, clinics and doctors would not be allowed to embark on that kind of fishing expedition without the individual’s written consent, and they’d be governed – strictly – by laws on confidentiality of patient information. They should have a clear, stated reason for taking a blood sample from you, and you should know and understand what that reason is.

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By Nathaniel Forbes, Forbes Calamity Prevention Pte Ltd, Singapore. Posted: 21 July 2009 at 5:29 pm (UTC +8 hours)