الفهرس 
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Abstract
Influenza-like illness (ILI) is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms with severe acute respiratory infection. Symptoms commonly include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, dry cough, loss of appetite, body aches and nausea, typically in connection with a sudden onset of illness (WHO, 2005).
Diagnostic tests available for influenza include viral culture, antibody detection, antigen testing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and immunofluorescence assays. Sensitivity and specificity of any test for influenza might vary by the laboratory that performs the test, the type of test used, and the type of specimen tested (CDC, 2009a).
This study was designed to determine whether nasal or throat swabs are superior specimens to detect the seasonal influenza A virus by measuring viral load in all specimens by real time PCR, correlate the frequency of influenza virus positivity with meteorological factors to determine the seasonality of infection and compare qPCR assays with conventional RT-PCR to assess its potential application in routine surveillance and diagnosis.
This study was conducted at the molecular biology laboratory ,Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University from June 2010 to May 2011.