Special Precautions/Comments:

Interferences: Interference may be encountered with certain sera containing antibodies directed against reagent components. For this reason, assay results should be interpreted taking into consideration the patient’s medical history and the results of any other tests performed.

Method: Enzyme-Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA). Calibration: VIDAS assay kit standard. EQA scheme: NEQAS.  IQC: VIDAS commercial preparations.

Interpretation: If the VCA-IgM is negative but VCA-IgG and an EBNA antibody are positive, then it is likely that the person tested had a previous EBV infection. Where the VCA-IgM tests positive, the result will be reviewed by a Consultant Microbiologist.

Additional Information:

Background information: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is ubiquitous. It was identified as the cause of infectious mononucleosis (IM). In adolescents and young adults, EBV may cause an infectious mononucleosis still known as Pfeiffer’s disease (glandular fever) or the kissing disease. In young children, EBV infection is usually asymptomatic.

The VIDAS tests enable the detection of anti-EA IgG and anti-VCA IgG antibodies (VIDAS EBV VCA/EA IgG), anti- VCA IgM antibodies (VIDAS EBV VCA IgM) and anti-EBNA IgG antibodies (VIDAS EBV EBNA IgG).