IVD antibodies are valuable tools for the diagnosis of a variety of diseases. With years of experience in the field of antibody development, Creative Biolabs is capable of providing high-quality IVD antibody development services against different diseases such as hepatitis.
Introduction of Hepatitis
Hepatitis can be defined as the inflammation of the liver tissue, which can be either acute or chronic. It is commonly caused by a viral infection, but there are other possible causes, including heavy alcohol use, medications, toxins, etc. Viral hepatitis is classified into 5 types: hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Different viruses are responsible for different types of viral hepatitis. Hepatitis A is caused by an infection with the hepatitis A virus (HAV), which mainly spreads by contaminated food and water. Hepatitis B is transmitted through contact with infectious body fluids that contain the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis C is typically transmitted through injection drug use and sexual contact, resulting from infections of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with hepatitis B. Finally, hepatitis E is a waterborne disease mainly found in areas with poor sanitation, such as the Middle East and Asia.
Fig.1 Pathogen factors in HBV manifestation. (MariaKuttikan, 2013)
Diagnosis of Hepatitis
Testing and diagnosis of hepatitis is the gateway for access to both treatment and prevention. Particularly, early identification enables patients to receive the necessary care and delay disease progression. The diagnosis of hepatitis is generally made based on a combination of patient's signs and symptoms, medical history, blood tests, imaging, and liver biopsy. The blood sample is taken and analyzed for liver function, with various parameters measured, including albumin, liver enzymes, and bilirubin. Moreover, a viral serology panel (i.e. a group of blood tests) may be conducted to measure the presence of multiple virus antigens and antibodies. The combination of antigen and antibody positivity can provide information about the stages of infection (acute or chronic), the degree of viral replication, and the infectivity of the virus. Besides, nucleic acid testing (NAT) is performed to determine the levels of hepatitis virus DNA/RNA, which is quite useful for diagnosis of infections such as active HCV.
Fig. 2 The life cycle of HBV infection and underlying mechanisms. (Kgatle, 2017)
For chronic hepatitis, blood tests may not be sufficient for diagnosis. In this case, liver biopsy is the gold standard for establishing the diagnosis as histopathologic analysis is able to determine the stage and severity of the disease. A liver biopsy can also be used to diagnose some of the complications of advanced hepatitis including fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
The development of different biochemical, serological, histological, and molecular biological methods has greatly improved the screening and diagnosis of hepatitis. However, there remains a large burden of undiagnosed infections globally, which is partly due to the lack of quality-assured serological and low-cost virological in vitro diagnostics.
As an industry leader of antibody development and manufacturing, Creative Biolabs is dedicated to the development of innovative IVD antibodies that has higher specificity and higher sensitivity, to help increase the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis and to support clinicians in the effective management of different types of hepatitis. Please contact us for more information if you are interested in our services.
Our IVD antibody development services target the following biomarkers of hepatitis:
References
For Research Use Only.
