Poor Clinical Sensitivity of Rapid Antigen Test for Influenza A Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus

Influenza A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus RNA was detected by reverse transcription-PCR in 144 clinical samples from Bonn, Germany. A common rapid antigen-based test detected the virus in only 11.1% of these samples. The paramount feature of rapid test-positive samples was high virus concentration. Antigen-based rapid tests appear unsuitable for virologic diagnostics in the current pandemic.