The effi ciency and performance of nucleic acid amplifi cationbased assays depends on the amount and quality of sample template. Nucleic acid amplifi cation assays, including reverse transcriptase RT-PCR (rRT-PCR), and real-time RT-PCR are the most sensitive and specifi c infl uenza virus diagnostic assays. Real-time RT-PCR remains the method of choice for clinical diagnosis of novel H1N1 2009 virus in respiratory specimens and for differentiating it from seasonal infl uenza viruses [25] . Laboratory tests, such as real-time RT-PCR should be prioritized for hospitalized patients to diagnose 2009 H1N1 infl uenza and immunocompromised persons with suspected infl uenza where RIDT or DFA testing is negative or to determine infl uenza A virus subtype in patients who have died from suspected or confi rmed infl uenza A virus infection.