Xiangyan Xiao, Jing Zhang
Influenza A virus (IAV) remains a major focus of global public health concern, as it can cause influenza-like illness and severe respiratory infections. Therefore, achieving accurate and sensitive detection of IAV would greatly facilitate disease diagnosis and control. The two main conventional technical methods for IAV detection that are reviewed in this article are viral nucleic acid amplification analysis and immunological assays. At the same time, this review pays special attention to the cross-integration of these two types of techniques with modern engineering technologies, and systematically introduces novel biosensors (offering significantly enhanced sensitivity) and point-of-care testing (POCT) devices (enabling rapid on-site diagnosis) developed based on these two principles. However, it is important to note that the majority of these novel platforms remain at the proof-of-concept stage, with validation largely confined to laboratory settings. By delineating the current state of these technologies, this review identifies key challenges and future directions for translating research innovations into clinical practice.