Musa Y. Hindiyeh, PhD

Biography

Musa Y. Hindiyeh, PhD

Musa, born in Jerusalem, obtained his BS in Medical Technology with honors from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in 1993 and got his board certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) in 1993. He then continued his education at UAMS and got his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 1998 under the supervision of Dr. Marie Chow. In 1998 he was accepted by ASM to do a fellowship at the University of Utah Medical Center in Medical Microbiology and Public health. During this period he worked under the supervision of Dr. Karen Carroll and Dr. Larry Reimer. During his fellowship he managed to author and co-author several papers. In 2000, Musa won the Edwin Lennette Travel Award from the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology (PASCV), and in 2002 he obtained his certification by the American Board in Medical Microbiology (ABMM).

Musa moved back to Jerusalem in 2000 where he got a position at Israel Central Virology Laboratory (ICVL), Public Health Services to work with Dr. Ella Mendelson. He teamed with Dr. Daniella Ram to establish and co-direct the central department for Real-Time Viral Molecular diagnosis at ICVL. This department provides diagnostic virology services for a large number of hospitals in Israel.

Musa wanted to bring in viral diagnosis to the Palestinian Territories since this field was nonexistent. He got a position at Caritas Baby Hospital were he introduced viral diagnosis for the respiratory viruses and rotavirus. His involvement in bringing in viral testing dramatically reduced antibiotic usage and helped in starting the best infection control unit in the Palestinian Territories. He also collaborated with the UNRWA and led an investigation on a large Mumps outbreak that occurred in highly MMR vaccinated Palestinian refugee population.

Musa's authored and co-authored several papers in the field of diagnostic virology and was awarded in 2007 the "Young Investigator Award" from the PASCV.

Comparison between Flocked Swabs and Nasopharyngeal Aspirates for the Detection of Common Respiratory Viruses

Introduction

Accurate diagnosis of viral infections is highly dependent on specimen collection and transport to the laboratory. Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) have been shown to be excellent samples for the diagnosis of viruses causing upper respiratory tract infections. However, NPA collection is time consuming and discomforting to the patients.

Objectives

In this study we compared the new flocked swab (Copan Diagnostics, Corona, CA) against NPA for the detection of the common respiratory viruses (RSV, influenza A and B, parainfluenza 1, 2, 3, and adenovirus). The flocked swabs utilize exclusive spray-on nylon flocked fibers technology for superior sample collection and release.

Methods

Side by side direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) staining was performed on 455 patient samples collected by flocked swabs and by nasopharyngeal aspiration. Flocked swabs were collected by well trained nurses by inserting the swab into one nostril, half the distance to the nasopharynx. The flocked swab were rotated five times before they were pulled out and placed in 3 ml of UTM transport medium. Flocked swabs were processed by vortexing the tube for 30 seconds, followed by the removal of the swab from the transport media. The cells were then centrifuged and washed once with PBS before they were spotted on acetone cleaned glass slides. NPA samples were collected from the second nostril and processed according to standard protocols.

Results

325 (71%) NPA samples were positive for one of the respiratory viruses tested. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the flocked swabs were 98.5% and 100%, respectively. Upon stratifying positive patient samples by virus type, RSV was detected in 255 (56%) of the NPA samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the flocked swabs for the detection of RSV were 98.4% and 100%, respectively. Of the four RSV positive samples that the flocked swabs missed, three were low positive and one was strongly positive in the NPA. The sensitivity and specificity of the flocked swabs were 100% for influenza A virus, and parainfluenza viruses, while the sensitivity and specificity for adenovirus were 88.9% and 100%, respectively.

Conclusions

Flocked swabs demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity when compared to NPA. In addition, the excellent feedbacks that were obtained from the health care providers made the flocked swabs an alternative for the NPA samples.