Respiratory season can place significant pressure on diagnostic laboratories as circulation of influenza, RSV and other respiratory pathogens increases. Higher testing volumes can affect capacity, staffing, instrumentation and reagent requirements, making preparation essential before demand reaches its seasonal peak.

For molecular laboratories, readiness is not simply about processing more samples. It is maintaining confidence that assays continue to perform as expected as testing demand increases.

Why Respiratory Season Matters

Respiratory viruses represent a substantial global health burden. The World Health Organization estimates that seasonal influenza alone causes around 1 billion infections annually, including 3–5 million cases of severe illness and 290,000–650,000 respiratory deaths.

Seasonal activity can also rise quickly. During the 2025/26 UK season, influenza activity increased from the second half of October and peaked in December, while RSV activity began increasing around the start of November and also peaked during December. These overlapping periods of activity can increase pressure across healthcare systems and diagnostic laboratories.

Preparing laboratory capacity and quality processes before respiratory testing demand accelerates is therefore essential.

Is Your Laboratory Ready?

Before testing volumes increase, laboratories should consider:

✓ Testing capacity and instrument availability
✓ Reagent and consumable inventory
✓ Availability of appropriate QC materials
✓ Staff competency and training
✓ QC procedures and acceptance criteria
✓ Planned reagent or lot changes
✓ Escalation procedures for unexpected results

Identifying potential gaps in advance can help laboratories maintain consistent testing throughout respiratory season.

Influenza A, Influenza B and RSV

Influenza A

Influenza A is one of the principal causes of seasonal influenza. Different circulating subtypes and ongoing viral evolution add complexity to respiratory diagnostics, reinforcing the importance of reliable molecular detection and continued assay monitoring.

Influenza B

Influenza B is another major cause of seasonal influenza. Its clinical presentation can be similar to Influenza A, making reliable laboratory detection and differentiation important throughout the testing season.

RSV

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) can cause significant respiratory disease, particularly in infants, older adults and immunocompromised individuals. Its symptoms can also overlap with influenza and other respiratory infections, increasing the importance of accurate detection as part of respiratory testing.

Although these pathogens differ virologically, they create a common laboratory quality challenge:

Can your laboratory maintain confidence in molecular assay performance as testing demand increases?

Why Does Molecular QC Matter?

Quality control provides laboratories with ongoing information about assay performance rather than simply confirming that a test has run. Routine molecular QC can help laboratories:

✓ Monitor assay performance over time
✓ Identify unexpected changes or trends
✓ Assess performance following reagent or lot changes
✓ Investigate unexpected results
✓ Provide objective evidence of test-system performance

This becomes particularly important during respiratory season, when increased testing may coincide with greater reagent consumption, new reagent lots and intensive instrument use.

Independent Quality Assessment

The Importance of Independent Third-Party QC

Independent third-party controls are manufactured independently of the assay, reagent or instrument manufacturer, providing an objective external challenge to the testing system. They can help laboratories monitor ongoing assay performance and identify assay drift or unexpected changes without relying solely on controls designed specifically for the testing system. Whole-pathogen controls provide the additional benefit of challenging the entire testing pathway, from extraction to amplification and detection.

Supporting Respiratory Testing with Qnostics

Qnostics provides independent molecular quality control solutions for respiratory testing, supporting both routine assay monitoring and broader analytical performance assessment.

Q Controls

Q Controls are positive run controls designed to support run-to-run monitoring within laboratory-defined limits. They can help laboratories detect, monitor and manage assay drift, with respiratory solutions available for Influenza A, Influenza B, RSV and broader multiplex respiratory testing.

Analytical Q Panels

Analytical Q Panels provide a dilution series across the analytical range of an assay, supporting assessment of characteristics including linearity, Limit of Detection (LoD) and Limit of Quantification (LoQ). Respiratory panels are available for Influenza A, Influenza B and RSV.

Qnostics Respiratory QC

Prepare Now. Test With Confidence.

Respiratory season can increase testing demand rapidly, but greater testing volume should not come at the expense of confidence in assay performance.

Reviewing QC requirements in advance provides an opportunity to confirm control availability, prepare for reagent and lot changes and establish processes for identifying unexpected results.

Prepare now and maintain confidence throughout respiratory season with independent molecular QC from Qnostics.

Explore Qnostics Respiratory Molecular Quality Control Solutions →