INTENDED USE The H.pylori Antibody Rapid Test Card is a lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative detection of antibodies to H.pylori in human Whole Blood/Serum/Plasma. It provides an aid in the diagnosis of infection with H.pylori. INTRODUCTION H.pylori is implicated in the etiology of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, including duodenal and gastric ulcer, non-ulcer dyspepsia and active and chronic gastritis. H.pylori infection is found in more than 90% of duodenal ulcer patients and in around 75% of all peptic ulcer sufferers. H.pylori infection is also more common in gastric cancer patients. The risk of gastric cancer has been estimated to be six-fold higher in H.pylori infected populations than in uninfected populations. H.pylori infections occur in human populations throughout the world. In developed countries, about 50% of the population may have H.pylori infection by the age of 60 years, while only 10-20% of adults in the third decade of life have it. Transmission is most probably by the fecal-oral or oral-oral route. Both invasive and non-invasive methods are used to diagnose H.pylori infection in patients with symptoms of gastrointestinal disease. Invasive methods include culture of gastric biopsy samples, histologic examination of stained biopsy specimens, or direct detection of the urease activity in the biopsy (CLO test). These methods need to obtain a biopsy sample by endoscopy, which is expensive, and usually results discomfort and risk to the patient. Noninvasive techniques include urea breath tests and serological methods. Urea breath test requires expensive laboratory equipment and moderate radiation exposure. Serologic tests are employed to detect antibodies as human immune response to H.pylori, for example the ELISA and the Western immunoblot. The H.pylori Antibody Rapid Test Card detect antibodies to H.pylori infection in human Whole Blood/Serum/Plasma. It is a noninvasive method and does not use radioactive isotopes. The test is easy to perform and requires no specialized equipment. Visual interpretation provides an accurate qualitative result. It is a useful on-site aid in the diagnosis of H.pylori infection. Diagnosis of H.pylori infection by antibody immunoassay can reduce the number of patients requiring endoscopy.