Viral Hepatitis

Hepatitis A (HAV) Antibody Detection Assays

Hepatitis A (HAV) causes an acute infection of the liver that generally does not require treatment and can self-resolve. Young children infected with HAV typically have a milder form of the disease compared to adults who can be at risk of acute liver failure, especially if there is underlying chronic liver disease. HAV is highly contagious and the virus is detectable in the blood and feces more than two weeks before clinical symptoms appear.

HEPATITIS A VIRUS INFECTION

Symptomatic HAV infections affect about 1.4 million people globally per year and the CDC estimates that 10% to 15% of people with HAV will have symptoms that persist or reoccur over a 6- to 9-month period. The virus is highly contagious and primarily transmitted by the fecal-oral route, by either person-to-person contact or through consumption of contaminated food or water. Currently, the most commonly identified risk factor among reported cases of acute HAV infection is contact with an infected household member or sexual partner. Antibodies produced in response to Hepatitis A last for life and protect against reinfection, although the best way to prevent Hepatitis A is by getting vaccinated.

Source: medscape.com

DIAGNOSIS Hepatitis A cannot be distinguished from other types of viral hepatitis on the basis of clinical symptoms alone. For this reason, serologic testing for the presence of antibodies to HAV is the primary method for diagnosis. HAV specific anti-IgM indicates an acute infection and is detectable from 1-2 weeks after initial infection and persists for up to 14 weeks. A positive IgG result signifies that the acute stage of the illness past and the person is immune to further infection. IgG antibody to HAV is also found in the blood following vaccination. Most commercial HAV immunoassays use native HAV antigen as opposed to recombinant HAV proteins for antibody detection. HAV has several critical immunogenic epitopes which require precise folding. To-date, recombinant techniques have not been able to mimic the conformation of these epitopes, and as a result have very limited use in diagnostic applications.

REAGENTS FOR SEROLOGY TESTING

BN1154

MAb to HAV • Isotype IgG2a, Kappa • Capture antibody MAb to HAV • Isotype IgG3, Kappa • Detection antibody

Paired MABs for ELISA and Lateral Flow Antigen Detection Assays

BN1155

Hepatitis- Reagents for Assay Development