Premium
Diagnosis of hepatitis a and b by testing saliva
Author(s) -
Parry John V.,
Perry Keith R.,
Mortimer Philip P.,
Panday Sohrab
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890280410
Subject(s) - saliva , hepatitis a , virology , antibody , medicine , immunoglobulin m , hepatitis a virus , hepatitis , immunology , viral hepatitis , hepatitis b , viral disease , acute hepatitis , virus , immunoglobulin g
The use of salivary samples to diagnose acute viral hepatitis was investigated. Tests for IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti‐HAV) on 29 acute‐phase samples from serologically confirmed cases of hepatitis A were strongly reactive. Follow‐up samples indicated that IgM anti‐ HAV persisted at moderate levels for 2‐4 months and was not usually detectable thereafter. The ratio of IgM to IgG anti‐HAV (RIA index) correlated closely with the interval from onset of infection. Significant levels of IgM anti‐HAV were not detected in the saliva of 103 IgG anti‐ HAV positive and 102 IgG anti‐HAV negative individuals nor of 4 individuals with hepatitis B. Similarly, IgM anti‐HBc was present in the saliva of acute cases of hepatitis B, but not in the saliva of 25 IgG anti‐HBc positive and 85 IgG anti‐HBc negative individuals, nor of 24 individuals with recent hepatitis A. It is concluded that saliva is a convenient and satisfactory alternative to serum for the diagnosis of hepatitis A infection.