Abbott Laboratories have introduced the first fully automated hepatitis A assay in the USA, for its widely used AxSYM® automated immunoassay instrument system. Used to diagnose an acute or recent hepatitis A viral infection, the AxSYM® HAVAB-M™ 2.0 assay detects the IgM antibody to hepatitis A (IgM anti-HAV). Abbott will be introducing additional AxSYM hepatitis assays in the USA throughout 2004 and continuing into 2005.

Produced by the body when it is initially exposed to the hepatitis A virus (HAV), IgM anti-HAV levels peak within the first month of illness and can usually be detected during the first three to six months of infection. By fully automating this assay, laboratories now have available a sensitive and specific test that is easy-to-use, enhances workflow productivity and provides a time to first result in as little as 20 minutes.

Utilizing micro-particle enzyme immunoassay testing (MEIA) methodology, the AxSYM HAVAB-M assay provides laboratories with a simple and convenient test that has excellent correlation to Abbott's well-known IMx® HAVAB-M assay and EIA HAVAB®-M assay. Combined with the reliability, accuracy and convenience of the AxSYM immunoassay system, laboratories can process a variety of immunodiagnostic tests simultaneously, up to 80 to 120 tests per hour.