Boost to flu testing in Townsville

Testing patients for and diagnosing influenza in North Queensland has been made quicker and easier thanks Queensland Government funding for a rapid flu testing machine at Pathology Queensland’s Townsville laboratory.

A new state of the art Polymerase Chair Reaction (PCR) machine, based at Health Support Queensland’s Townsville Hospital laboratory, will diagnose influenza and other respiratory conditions in almost half the time it took previously.

Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services Steven Miles MP said the PCR was valued at $275,000.

“This machine improves the timeliness and effectiveness of a flu test as it operates using an automated system,” he said.

“This makes the process of diagnosing a patient with influenza much simpler for scientists and means patients can receive their diagnosis sooner and commence treatment.

“The addition of this machine will also mean that the laboratory will have the capacity to test more samples for influenza than ever before.”

Minister Miles said the PCR machine would process samples from across North Queensland.

“The Townsville Pathology Queensland laboratory identifies conditions such as influenza from areas such as Mt Isa and Mackay,” he said.

“The positive effect of having this machine will be felt beyond just Townsville which is great in our efforts to reduce the impact of influenza in Queensland.”

Townsville Hospital director of microbiology Dr Robert Norton said the machine would aid early diagnoses of Influenza which was of utmost importance.

“If someone is already unwell and admitted to a hospital the impacts of a respiratory virus like Influenza can be significantly more severe,” Dr Norton said.

“Influenza is a virus which means antibiotics are not effective.

“A quick influenza diagnosis mitigates the risk of the virus spreading and the patient gets appropriate treatment in a timely manner.”

Dr Norton said most people with Influenza recover with bed rest while for people who need to see a doctor their General Practitioner was the most appropriate place.

“In most cases, and for most people, Influenza is not an emergency so people with the virus shouldn’t be coming to the Emergency Department,” he said.

“GPs now have access to modern testing equipment to diagnose Influenza and can also turn around results quickly.

“Vaccination against Influenza is also provided by GPs not usually by the hospital.”