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Britain's biotech firm Avacta Group on Monday (January 10) announced halting sales of its Covid-19 rapid antigen lateral flow test AffiDX to replace antibodies in the device and increase its ability to diagnose the Omicron variant. The company stated that AffiDX is capable of detecting Omicron when the virus is present in high numbers in samples, but the sensitivity of the test reduces at lower viral loads. The performance of all rapid antigen tests came under scanner in wake of a large number of mutations in the Omicron variant. AffiDX contains both a proprietary Affimer reagent and a commercially available antibody. The Affimer reagent detects the Omicron variant with the same sensitivity as the Delta variant, and performance of the antibody is paired with the Affimer reagent in the test. This has been affected by the additional Omicron mutations, the firm said. Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta Group, said: "Our determination to only provide high quality, high performance diagnostic tests has led us to the correct decision to pause all marketing of the AffiDX® lateral flow antigen test. We have, of course, been unable to market the product in the UK since October 2021, as the product continues to await approval under the new CTDA regulatory process.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a serine prostate that is found only in the prostate within the epithelial cells of the acini and ducts. Normal PSA concentration in serum or plasma is 0.1-2.6ng/ml. Reports have suggested that elevated level of serum or plasma PSA is the most useful tumor markers in diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Community pharmacies must be involved in future planning for public health emergencies, especially in cases where a quick response is needed such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a European-wide research has recommended. The project, co-led by the University of Huddersfield professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar in medicines and healthcare, focuses on how community pharmacies dealt with the pandemic, covering 31 pharmacy interventions on Covid-19 in 32 countries in Europe. The interventions include prevention, response, and recovery measures. It also covers improved access to medicines, expanded powers granted to pharmacies, rapid antigen testing, along with Covid-19 vaccination. Community pharmacists in the US, Canada, and Australia have been engaged in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response strategic guidance after the 2009 flu pandemic. The aim of the research is to map the current reported practice and trends and review the pharmacies' intervention in Europe.

Salmonella is a pathogen for both human and animal. Typhoid, paratyphoid, ichoremia, gastroenteritis, and food-poisoning are major disease caused by Salmonella for human. The infection is acquired mainly by ingestion, especially meat, eggs, egg products, milk, milk products, sea food etc. Typical symptom of human infection of Salmonella includes sicchasia, vomit, diarrhea, abdominal pain or cramps, fever and headache. The incubation is from 8 to 72 hours. It usually occurs in 12 to 36 hours after taking infected food, and the symptom can remain for 1 week. Salmonella infection is regarded as one of the most common food borne pathogenic bacteria especially in developing countries and seriously threatens human health. Chemtrue® Salmonella Antigen Test can be an aid to diagnose Salmonella infection and monitor the effectiveness of therapy.