comparison of pcr with serology for detecting acute hepatitis a virus infection

Introduction: early detection of acute hepatitis a virus infection (hav) allows adopting proper treatment measures, rapid recovery, and avoiding side effects. this study compares pcr assay with serology for diagnosing acute hav infection. methods: twenty samples from patients presenting clinical symptoms of acute hepatitis were tested for anti-hav igm antibodies. genomic rna was extracted from igm-positive samples, cdna was synthesized and examined for genomic hav using a specific hav real-time detection kit and a nested pcr. results: among 20 sera, 14 were positive for anti-hav igm antibodies. the specific real-time pcr and nested pcr showed agreement, and both detected hav genetic material in 3 out of 14 samples. conclusion: high levels of anti-hav igm antibodies do not necessarily indicate acute hav infection in people presenting clinical symptoms of the disease. measuring igm antibody levels alongside molecular detection of virus genome by dna-based methods assay can lead to an accurate, timely, and reliable diagnosis of active hav infection.