Applied Biosystems TaqMan Influenza A/H5 Detection Kits, which detect the viral H5 subtype, including H5N1, in human and animal samples in less than two hours, are set for release to select laboratories around the world for research and epidemiological use before the end of 2005 and will be broadly available early in 2006. The detection kit, which is currently being tested and optimized against viral samples from the Hong Kong outbreaks of avian flu, is designed to run using standardized protocols on the Applied Biosystems Real-Time PCR system, and is part of a comprehensive package of technologies from Applied Biosystems for public health officials and researchers involved in the evaluation and surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks. The package also includes standardized genome sequencing protocols and technology, ongoing genetic sequence information from the virus and access to a global influenza genome database. The analysis software will also be made available through non-exclusive licenses and laboratories using Applied Biosystems' sequencing platform. Users will be encouraged to submit influenza genome sequence information to the Los Alamos National Library (LANL) Influenza Sequence Database, GenBank®, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sequence database, or other publicly accessible databases, to ensure maximal sharing of scientific information.