Multiplex testing helps provide critical insights as respiratory viruses surge

Respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, can present similar symptoms but vary widely in the treatments they require. Credit: nobeastsofierce Science/Alamy - Repurposed from the original posting of this article

This is a brief preview of the full article, which can be found on Nature’s website.

In typical years, flu season begins to escalate in early autumn and proceeds through winter. In 2021, the pattern for respiratory illnesses appears unsettlingly different.

“We’re seeing all these respiratory viruses right now, like SARS-CoV-2, of course, but also other endemic corona viruses, parainfluenza 2 and 3, and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus],” said Melissa Miller, Ph.D., director of the University of North Carolina’s Clinical Molecular Biology laboratory, on a balmy August day. “This is the most RSV I've seen in my entire career, and it’s still the summer.”

Though no-one can predict the intensity of a particular flu season, the early increase in respiratory illnesses does not bode well. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has inundated hospitals with symptomatic patients who may or may not be infected with the virus. For the health of patients, healthcare workers, and the public, those showing signs of a respiratory illness require accurate and rapid testing, since therapies and public health protocols vary widely by illness. That is easier said than done.

Symptomatic COVID-19 can present like many other respiratory infections, at least at the outset. An effective diagnostic must be able to differentiate between respiratory illnesses, which will strain labs like Miller’s. To keep pace, these labs will need access to multiplex testing.