A Single Assay Provides Herpes simplex Virus Profile

Plexus HerpeSelect is the first in a new line of multiplex infectious disease assays being developed by Focus Diagnostics (Cypress, CA, USA) that are designed to match physician-ordering patterns for diagnosing specific infections. Focus Diagnostics plans to add additional multiplex antibody and antigen detection panels to the Plexus multi-analyte diagnostics product line.

Focus Diagnostics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, announced that it received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance to market its new Plexus HerpeSelect 1 and 2 IgG test kit, the multiplex type-specific HSV serology panel using the xMap technology from Luminex Corporation (Austin, TX, USA). The new Plexus HerpeSelect assay demonstrated comparable performance to the HerpeSelect enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) in clinical trials.

Plexus HerpeSelect provides laboratories with a complete HSV serology profile from a single specimen, in a single assay, using Luminex instrumentation. Laboratories that have a Luminex instrument system in place can expand their test menu to include the HerpeSelect 1 and 2 serology panel. Like all HerpeSelect products, the Plexus assay uses glycoprotein G--gG1 and gG2--the antigens corresponding to HSV-type 1 and 2, respectively. The Luminex xMap technology uses laser optics similar to flow cytometry and an array of fluorescent dye-labeled beads to simultaneously detect multiple targets in the same specimen.

We see multiplex testing as a common-sense approach that will be applied to other future products, said John Hurrell, general manager, Focus Diagnostics. HerpeSelect is the first Plexus product that extends our premier product brand into laboratories seeking to increase productivity. We are excited about the prospect of improving laboratory medicine and offering physicians more rapid and accurate clinical information.

Only six years ago, genital herpes infections were increasing dramatically with no reliable means for detecting the viral infection. Transmission occurs 70% of the time in the absence of symptoms, and symptoms are often misdiagnosed. Perhaps most disturbing is the increased risk of acquiring HIV for individuals infected with HSV-2, and the risk to neonates if the mother is shedding virus during vaginal birth. Today more than 50 million individuals in the United States are infected and 90% are unaware they have the disease. More than one million people are newly infected each year. While herpes is not curable, antiviral treatments offer patients or their partners a reduced risk of acquiring or transmitting HSV-2.


Related Links:
Focus Diagnostics
Luminex Corporation