Bid to develop a vaccine as a solution to worries of a possible swine flu pandemic.

Scientists at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory have managed to fully sequence the genetic data of the H1N1 swine flu virus. This data has been published by the US Centre for Disease Control and Primer Design. A firm founded by a team of University of Southampton scientists have succeeded in producing what is thought to be the first DNA diagnosis kit in the world for this fatal strain of influenza.

PrimerDesign, part of the University’s SETsquared scheme, aims to help early-stage, high-tech, high-growth potential ventures get on the road to success. The company specialises in the production of DNA detection kits and were able to produce synthetic DNA that matches the virus exactly, without ever having to come into contact with the flu itself.

Current tests for the virus take two days to return a result; however this newly developed DNA test kit will identify the presence of swine flu just two hours after testing. The kits have been shipped to Mexico in the hope that they will aid authorities in monitoring the outbreak, and the technologically advanced methods used in manufacturing the kits ensure that if a pandemic was to occur availability of the kits would not be an issue.

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