How on earth did they find out this guy had influenza type A?

I went to work yesterday and for the very 1st time in my 13 yrs, I had to gown, glove and put on a mask to see a patient who was diagnosed with influenza type a. How do they differentiate between the strains? Is this the worst?

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Answer:
Influenza Type A is the most common and also the scariest of the three influenzas, causing the most serious epidemics in history.

Influenza Type B flu outbreaks also can cause epidemics, but the disease it produces generally is milder than that caused by type A.

Influenza Type C flu viruses, on the other hand, have never been connected with a large epidemic, usually just causing mild respiratory infections similar to the common cold.

hope this helps…

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Answer:
they test for the flu by swabbing the patients throat/nose and microbiology lab tests it for the flu strains.. i'm not sure which is the worst.. even so, if they're positive for either they're put on droplet precautions x5 days.