Abstract
This report evaluates the significance of antibody/bovine serum albumin
(BSA) interactions as a risk factor for the diagnosis of acute hepatitis E. Serum samples
from 40 patients with acute hepatitis E and from 40 age/sex matched healthy adult subjects
were tested for IgA, IgG, and IgM by ELISA and by turbidimetric assay. BSA was used as a
target to characterize changes in levels of interacting immunoglobulins. Initial results
obtained before removal of antibodies that interacted with BSA suggested that HEV
patients had increased levels of IgM in their sera. It was found
that normal individuals had mean IgA, IgG, and IgM levels of