ALFA

ALFA (Allergy Lateral Flow Assay) ALFA (Allergy Lateral Flow Assay) is a rapid test for the determination of allergen specific Immunoglobulin E (sIgE) in human serum, plasma or whole blood BACKROUND The worldwide frequency of allergies increased significantly over the past decades. The term allergy is often used for type I hypersensitivity reactions (immediate type reactions), whose symptoms generally occur within 30-60 min after contact with the allergen. The most frequent symptoms are: hay fever (rhinitis), conjunctivitis, hives (urticaria), allergic asthma and as the most dangerous manifestation anaphylaxis (the anaphylactic shock). The allergens causing type I hypersensitivity reactions are mostly proteins derived from the natural environment e.g. plant pollen, animal hair, food, mites and insect venoms. The characteristic of type I allergies is the involvement of allergen specific immuno-globulins (antibodies) of class E (sIgE). Hence, the detection of sIgE is an important tool of modern allergy diagnostics.