Evaluation of five rapid diagnostic tests for detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV): A step towards scale-up of HCV screening efforts in India

AbstractIn 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a target for eliminating viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030. However, while today's highly effective and well-tolerated pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral regimens have maximized simplification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, there remain a plethora of barriers to HCV screening, diagnosis, and linkage to care. As of 2017, only 19% of the estimated 71 million individuals living with chronic HCV worldwide were diagnosed and in 2015 to 2016, only 21% of diagnosed individuals had accessed treatment. Simplification and decentralization of the HCV care cascade would bolster patient engagement and support the considerable scale-up needed to achieve WHO targets. Recent developments in HCV screening and diagnosis, together with reduced pretreatment assessment and on-treatment monitoring requirements, can further streamline the care continuum, ensuring patients are linked to care quickly and earlier in the disease course, and minimize clinic visits.

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Performance of rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in whole blood collected on dried blood spots

Journal of Viral Hepatitis ◽

10.1111/jvh.12501 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 399-401 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

L. Poiteau ◽

A. Soulier ◽

I. Rosa ◽

F. Roudot-Thoraval ◽

C. Hézode ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Whole Blood ◽

Diagnostic Tests ◽

Dried Blood Spots ◽

Rapid Diagnostic Tests ◽

Blood Spots

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Sensitivity and Specificity of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Hepatitis C Virus With or Without HIV Coinfection: A Multicentre Laboratory Evaluation Study

The Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/infdis/jiaa389 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Beatrice N Vetter ◽

Elena Ivanova Reipold ◽

Stefano Ongarello ◽

Rosemary Audu ◽

Fehintola A Ige ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Sensitivity And Specificity ◽

Diagnostic Tests ◽

Target Population ◽

Evaluation Study ◽

Rapid Diagnostic Tests ◽

Laboratory Evaluation ◽

Core Antigen ◽

Hiv Coinfection

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening is critical to HCV elimination efforts. Simplified diagnostics are required for low-resource settings and difficult-to-reach populations. This retrospective study assessed performance of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for detection of HCV antibodies. Methods Two lots of 13 RDTs were evaluated at 3 laboratories using archived plasma samples from 4 countries (Nigeria, Georgia, Cambodia, and Belgium). HCV status was determined using 3 reference tests according to a composite algorithm. Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected populations. Operational characteristics were also assessed. Results In total, 1710 samples met inclusion criteria. In HIV-uninfected samples (n = 384), the majority of RDTs had sensitivity ≥98% in 1 or both lots and most RDTs had specificity ≥99%. In HIV-infected samples (n = 264), specificity remained high but sensitivity was markedly lower than in HIV-uninfected samples; only 1 RDT reached >95%. The majority of HIV-infected samples for which sensitivity was low did not have detectable HCV viral load/core antigen. Interreader variability, lot-to-lot variability, and rate of invalid runs were low for all RDTs (<2%). Conclusions HCV RDTs should be evaluated in the intended target population, as sensitivity can be impacted by population factors such as HIV status. Clinical Trials Registration NCT04033887

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Modelling the impact of a national scale-up of interventions on hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs in Scotland

Addiction ◽

10.1111/add.14267 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 113 (11) ◽

pp. 2118-2131 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hannah Fraser ◽

Christinah Mukandavire ◽

Natasha K. Martin ◽

David Goldberg ◽

Norah Palmateer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

People Who Inject Drugs ◽

Scale Up ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

National Scale ◽

The Impact ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Transmission

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Cost‐effectiveness analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) point‐of‐care assay for HCV screening

Liver International ◽

10.1111/liv.15123 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vanessa Koo ◽

Feng Tian ◽

William W. L. Wong

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Cost Effectiveness Analysis ◽

Effectiveness Analysis ◽

Hcv Screening ◽

Point Of Care Assay

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Performance of rapid diagnostic tests for HCV infection in serum or plasma

Future Microbiology ◽

10.2217/fmb-2020-0295 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stéphane Chevaliez ◽

Françoise Roudot-Thoraval ◽

Christophe Hézode ◽

Jean-Michel Pawlotsky ◽

Richard Njouom

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C ◽

Diagnostic Tests ◽

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Antibody Test ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Rapid Diagnostic Tests ◽

Treatment Programs ◽

Clinical Sensitivity ◽

Cost Treatment

Aim: HCV diagnosis will become the bottleneck in eliminating hepatitis C. Simple, accurate and cost-effective testing strategies are urgently needed to improve hepatitis C screening and diagnosis. Materials & methods: Performance of seven rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) have been assessed in a large series (n = 498) of serum or plasma specimens collected in France and in Cameroon. Results: Specificity varied from 96.1 to 100%. The clinical sensitivity, compared with immunoassays as the reference, was high for all seven RDT (97.2–100%). The Multisure HCV antibody assay and OraQuick HCV rapid antibody test reached sensitivity ≥99%. Conclusion: A number of RDT may be suitable for WHO prequalification and may be implemented in the framework of large-scale low-cost treatment programs to achieve the WHO viral hepatitis objectives by 2030.

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Hepatitis C virus media coverage favorably impacts on antibody testing in the non-interferon era

Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/pubmed/fdz149 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Dalia Morales-Arraez ◽

Manuel Hernandez-Guerra ◽

Felicitas Diaz-Flores ◽

Yolanda Nieto-Bujalance ◽

Jose Garcia-Dopico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Strong Correlation ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Antibody Testing ◽

Local Newspapers ◽

Hcv Screening ◽

Hcv Testing ◽

Test Result

Abstract Background In the non-interferon era, many patients still remain untested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Our aim was to determine if media coverage, number and type of news, can influence the rate of HCV testing. Methods For each calendar year we searched from national, regional and local newspapers for articles published related to HCV between 2001 and 2013 (interferon era) and 2014–2018 (non-interferon era) and the HCV tests performed. Demographics, provider data and test result were collected from patients tested. Results During the studied period, 21 913 press articles were found, and we identified a total of 293 226 HCV tests. A total of 9778 HCV tests from 5237 patients tested positive (1.88%). An inverse correlation was found between media coverage and the number of HCV tests during the interferon era (r2 = −0.558, P = 0.024), where news concerning epidemiology and burden of the disease were more frequent. By contrast, in the non-interferon era a strong correlation was observed (r2 = 0.900, P = 0.019), where news related to treatment prevailed. Conclusion Our results show that media coverage on HCV fluctuate so the type of news. It remains to be prospectively evaluated if well designed publicity campaigns about the benefits of HCV screening and treatment influences on HCV testing.

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