Our podcast topic for November is a subject high on everyone’s radar: influenza, specifically H1N1, formerly referred to as swine flu. In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 situation to constitute a pandemic—in fact, a phase 6 pandemic, which is the highest level. To date, more than 100 children have died as a result of H1N1 infection, and we are all watching carefully to see how the pandemic develops as well as how it plays out against the background of seasonal influenza in the coming months.

This month, CLP was fortunate to sit down with Jay Lieberman, MD, medical director of infectious diseases at Quest Diagnostics and professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine. Dr Lieberman shared with us his extensive knowledge of influenza virus structure and subtyping, reviewed the effectiveness and drawbacks of the current available testing methods, and discussed how the pandemic is shaping up so far. Some of the most unsettling points he had to make, in my opinion, had to do with the lack of sensitivity of rapid tests, such as enzyme immunoassays. Some of these tests give false negative results up to 30% of the time. As Dr Lieberman emphasized, there is still a place for these tests in many health care settings, but as in other areas, such as HIV viral load monitoring, quantitative PCR is becoming the gold standard. Not every lab can go molecular at the moment, but it is becoming increasingly clear that molecular testing is the way of the future. If we at CLP can address this issue in ways that assist your lab with the transition, please feel free to drop me a line.

Speaking of change, at this time last year, before the appearance of swine flu, the buzzword on everyone’s lips was MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections. This month’s issue includes a feature on diagnostic products for these infections, which continue to exert a staggering toll—upward of $20 billion annually in the United States. As we went to press, the Department of Health and Human Services announced an allotment of $17 million in funds to combat the problem, which is good news for all of us concerned with patient care.

December will be our annual Buyer’s Guide issue, so I will take this opportunity to wish our readers and advertisers a happy and healthy holiday season. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with your thoughts or observations on H1N1, nosocomial infections, and any other issues affecting the clinical lab industry. Also note that our e-mail addresses changed in October, after CLP’s publisher changed hands. You can now reach me at ; Stephen Noonoo, CLP’s associate editor, can be reached at . Also, please continue to send your news releases; the new address for releases is .

Best regards,

Suzanne Clancy, PhD
editor, CLP
; (858) 793-9533