A new educational resource for health professionals is now available in the Customer Centre section of Bayer HealthCare's website Labnews.com, providing a comprehensive guide to trends, testing and treatment for HIV and Hepatitis A, B and C.

The Bayer HIV Manual and Bayer Hepatitis Manual are on-line resources created by Bayer Diagnostics, a division of Bayer HealthCare, to promote greater understanding of the transmission, diagnosis, treatment and management of these widespread infectious diseases. This concept of disease-focused management is also reflected in the extensive range of infectious disease assays currently available for Bayer ADVIA Centaur® Immunoassay System, which includes methods for the detection of antibodies to HIV-1 (including group O) and HIV-2 viruses, plus a range of serology tests for Hepatitis A, B and C.

Each manual consists of two interactive visual approaches to the topics of HIV and Hepatitis. In each, a section entitled 'The ABC's' provides a basic primer suitable for lay people or health care professionals who require a broad overview of the subject, while a 'Technical Section' provides a thorough scientific treatment of the topic drawing on material supplied by a team of medical experts. The manuals provide a wealth of valuable information about HIV and Hepatitis infections including their prevalence, transmission, therapy, prevention and clinical markers.

The Labnews.com site also provides a link to the complete infectious disease assay menu for the ADVIA Centaur®, Bayer Diagnostics' automated analyser that allows samples to be processed without user intervention at the productive rate of up to 240 tests per hour.