Roche launches Elecsys Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) immunoassay panel to improve EBV infection staging - Seite 2

Routine EBV testing and result interpretation can be challenging, and additional testing is required for EBV infection stages in as many as 5-10% of normal samples, where the stage of infections is not clear.^6-10 The Elecsys EBV panel correctly classifies a high percentage of routine samples, when determining the stage of EBV infection. This means that less confirmatory testing is required, saving time and resources for the laboratory, as well as potentially leading to more effective patient management.

About Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Testing
While there is no international serological standard or consensus algorithm defined for EBV serology testing, there are different ways of conducting the EBV blood tests. Often the three immunoassays used to determine the stage of EBV infection are run in parallel. However, in an immunocompetent, adult population, the number of tests per sample can be reduced up to 50%, by using the “EBNA-first” sequential algorithm. Approximately, 70-80% of routine samples for EBV testing indicate past infections, and only 2.4% are acute infections.³ Therefore, by determining the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) results first, a positive result will rule out all past infections, meaning that only EBNA-1 negative samples will have to be further tested for the presence of IgM and VCA IgG antibodies to determine the final EBV infection stage. This further reduces costs and increases the efficiency of the laboratory testing. The high specificity and sensitivity of the Elecsys EBV EBNA IgG, in combination with clearly defined results, makes this assay very well suited for the implementation of the “EBNA-first” algorithm and thus brings greater value to laboratories and patients through more cost effective and efficient testing.¹¹

About the Elecsys EBV immunoassay panel
The Elecsys EBV panel consists of three immunoassays to detect antibodies specific to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The three assays, Elecsys EBV IgM, Elecsys EBV VCA IgG, and Elecsys EBV EBNA IgG are used in combination to accurately determine the patient's EBV infection stage. The immunoassays have excellent clinical sensitivity and specificity, and a short time to result of only 18 minutes. The tests require a small sample volume of between 6 μL to 35 μL, depending on the assay and analyzer. The addition of the EBV panel isd an important addition to the routine infectious diseases testing panel for Roche’s immunoassay portfolio.