The sensitivity of a rapid test in detecting influenza A virus in humans is only between 60 and 80 per cent, said Health director-general Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.

"This means even if the test results on a person is negative, it does not mean that he or she is not infected with influenza A," he said in a statement today.

h1n1 flu malaysia school children students wearing mask 260609 06 So far, the test is not compulsory on suspected influenza A(H1N1) patients, he said when replying to questions on the reliability of the test relayed to the Health Ministry's online.

He said according to the Institute of Medical Research (IMR), only the Real-Time Reverse-Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RRT-PCR) could confirm whether a person was H1N1 positive.

Death toll remains at 73

Dr Mohd Ismail said no new death from influenza A(H1N1) was reported in the last seven days and the death toll remained at 73.

He said 75 influenza-like illness (ILI) patients were admitted for treatment while 154 more patients were discharged.

This brings the number of ILI patients to 1,096 ILI in 104 hospitals, including 11 private hospitals, nationwide and only 257 of them (23 percent) are confirmed H1N1 patients, he added.

Mohd Ismail of the 257 cases, 39 patients were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), including three new patients while another five were discharged.

He said 30 of the 39 cases (77 percent) were high-risk patients with four having respiratory problems (asthma, COAD), diabetes mellitus (six), immunosuppressive (one), chronic neurology disease (one), obesity (11), pregnant woman (one, and children below five (six).

- Bernama