Customer Notification: Discontinuation of Artus CMV DNA assay - new Altona CMV DNA assay introduced

Discontinuation of Artus CMV DNA assay - new Altona CMV DNA assay introduced: week beginning 07th October 2024

Test code: ACMV
Test code: MCMH for the congenital CMV screening programme (urines)

Reason for Notification
The current real-time PCR assay for the detection and quantification of CMV DNA is manufactured
by Artus: however this assay has now been discontinued. The NVRL will switch to an assay provided
by Altona Diagnostics.

Changes to Reporting of Results (Plasma)
(i) The Altona assay reports in International Units per ml (IU/ml) compared to copies/ml in
the Artus assay. Reporting in IU/ml aids standardisation of reporting between different
assays and laboratories.
(ii) The conversion factor for retrospective analysis of Artus results as determined by UCD
NVRL is 0.45 copy/ml = 1 IU/ml
(iii) CMV Viral loads ≥ 1000 IU/ml (log 3.0) and < 1,000,000,000 IU/ml (log 9.0) on the Altona
assay will be reported quantitatively with the Log value

Clinical Relevance (Please Note)
The Altona assay reports higher results than the artus assay (by a factor of up to ~1.0 Log IU/ml).
Therefore, if you have been regularly monitoring a patient’s CMV viral load, it is advisable to obtain a
new baseline with the Altona assay.

Changes to Reporting of Results (Other)
Samples tested for CMV other than plasma will continue to be reported qualitatively.

Please contact the Clinical Line on 01-7164401 if you have any queries. We apologise for any
inconvenience caused.

Reference: CN-24-28