{"id":4408,"date":"2021-09-15T14:35:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T02:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?page_id=4408"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T02:07:13","slug":"hepatitis-a-virus-hav","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/hepatitis-a-virus-hav\/","title":{"rendered":"Hepatitis A virus (HAV)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Infection:<\/strong> Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Brief description:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul>\n<li>Virus that causes an acute hepatitis illness that self-resolves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can very rarely cause liver failure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Doesn\u2019t cause chronic infection like hepatitis B and C.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Life-long immunity develops after infection or vaccination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very uncommonly acquired in NZ unless known outbreak e.g. related to imported frozen berries. More common if recent history of overseas travel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Did you know?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>HAV is related to enteroviruses and spreads by faecal-oral transmission. Not considered a \u2018blood-borne virus\u2019 like hepatitis B and C.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Who do I test?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Test people with <strong>acute hepatitis<\/strong> that isn\u2019t due to another cause e.g. medications, alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t test people with <strong>chronic<\/strong> or <strong>low-level<\/strong> (&lt;200) elevations in ALT\/AST.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If testing for immunity is required, this should be stated clearly on the request form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mimics<\/strong> to consider in patients with <strong>hepatitis<\/strong>:&nbsp;hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Test of choice:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Request<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hep A serology<\/a><\/strong>, but must specify reason for test (<strong>immunity<\/strong> vs <strong>infection<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hepatitis A total antibody <\/strong>detects both <strong>IgM and IgG<\/strong> antibodies and is the first test that is performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Excellent <strong>sensitivity<\/strong> &#8211; a <strong>negative<\/strong> result <strong>excludes<\/strong> acute or past infection, as it means there is no detectable IgM or IgG.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <strong>positive<\/strong> result can be due to the presence of IgG, IgM or both.\n<ul>\n<li>In <strong>well patients<\/strong> where evidence of immunity is required, this is assumed to be <strong>IgG<\/strong>, which indicates <strong>immunity<\/strong> due to <strong>past infection<\/strong> or <strong>vaccination<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In patients with <strong>acute hepatitis<\/strong>, the laboratory will usually <strong>add on IgM<\/strong> <strong>testing<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hepatitis A IgM<\/strong> is a marker of <strong>acute<\/strong> infection, and is detectable from time of symptom onset, but can <strong>persist for many months<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Excellent<strong> sensitivity &#8211; <\/strong>a<strong> negative <\/strong>result makes acute infection<strong> very unlikely<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moderate<strong> specificity &#8211; <\/strong>a<strong> positive <\/strong>result is<strong> supportive<\/strong>, but<strong> not confirmatory<\/strong>, as false positives due to cross reactions can occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Tests to avoid\/specialist tests:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p><strong>Hepatitis A PCR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>This is usually performed on <strong>stool<\/strong>, but sometimes can be performed on <strong>blood<\/strong> also.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Has excellent <strong>specificity<\/strong>, so can <strong>confirm<\/strong> hepatitis A in patients with a positive IgM.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is <strong>limited laboratory capacity<\/strong> to perform this test currently, so it is generally reserved for Public Health investigations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infection: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":4222,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-left-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hepatitis A virus (HAV) &#8211; 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