Boehringer Mannheim (Germany) announces hepatitis G test:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Boehringer Mannheim (Germany) has developed a nucleic acid-based test for the recently sequenced hepatitis G virus. Prof Georg Hess told Clinica that the assay uses 30 rounds of PCR to amplify the virus and a two-probe, streptavidin system to detect it calorimetrically on the company's ES 300 immunoanalyser. The test can detect 1,000 genome equivalents/ml. Approximately 1-2% of the population carries hepatitis G, which is transfusion transmissible. The genetic sequence of the virus was published in the January 26th issue of Science.