Abacavir sensitivity

Clinical information

Genetic testing for HLA-B*57:01 is performed to prevent hypersensitivity reactions against the HIV chemopharmaceutic agent abacavir. Around 8 % of people carry the HLA-B*57:01 allele (range: 0.1 % in Japanese people, 19.6 % in South Africans). It can be assumed that 8 % to 61 % of HIV patients who carry this allele and are treated with abacavir will develop a hypersensitivity to the drug within six weeks. Symptoms of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) are fever, exanthema and pruritus. They may also include gastrointestinal and respiratory problems, joint pain and increased liver or kidney function parameters with a progressive course up to death, especially with re-exposure. Therefore, it is recommended that all HIV-infected patients, regardless of their ethnicity, should be tested for the presence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele before starting a treatment with abacavir.

Diagnostics

The EUROArray HLA-B57:01 Direct allows fast and simple molecular genetic determination of HLA-B*57:01 alleles in human genomic DNA. All HLA-B*57:01 alleles currently known in the world are detected in a single test run and the EUROArrays are automatically evaluated using the established EUROArrayScan software. The direct method allows the direct use of blood samples without prior time and cost-consuming DNA isolation.