Detection of Avian Influenza-DNA Hybridization Using Wavelength-scanning Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor

Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious disease that infects chickens, turkeys, and migratory birds. The sources of infection, avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are highly species-specific and rarely cross species barriers. However, when avian and human viruses contaminate an intermediate host simultaneously, AIVs produced by genetic recombination between the different strains may infect humans. Recently, pure AIVs with high pathogenicity, namely H5N1 and H7N7, were found to have been transmitted directly into humans [1]. Because highly pathogenic AIVs can cause fatalities in humans and lead to substantial economic losses because of infection of commercial poultry, rapid screening techniques for AIVs are in high demand [2]. Several virological methods are commonly used for virus detection; these include virus isolation, reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Detection of Avian Influenza-DNA Hybridization Using Wavelength-scanning Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor