The recent drive to combat a potential influenza pandemic has focused on efforts to develop therapeutics and vaccines. However, to track influenza effectively, and offer rapid and appropriate treatment, the accurate diagnosis of influenza infections is of critical importance. The traditional method of influenza diagnosis is both time-consuming and not cost-effective. The goal of influenza diagnostics is to develop diagnostic kits that are reliably sensitive and can differentiate between influenza subtypes. Further, given the geographical range of outbreaks, it is desirable that these kits can be easily used outside the laboratory. This article discuses the relative merits of the range of influenza diagnostics that are being developed to meet this need.