Researchers have developed a new portable point-of-care (PoC) molecular test for hepatitis C virus (HCV), with sensitivity and specificity that fulfills the recent FIND/WHO Target Product Profile for HCV decentralized testing in low- and middle-income countries, according to an online report in the journal Gut.
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The new assay identified all major HCV genotypes, with a limit of detection of 2,362 IU/mL. In the PoC-HCV Genedrive Viral Detection Assay Validation Study (NCT02992184), 422 patients chronically infected with HCV and 503 controls negative for anti-HCV and HCV RNA were assayed with the device. The Genedrive HCV assay showed 98.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity to detect HCV, the researchers reported. The test was further validated in a small clinical setting in a resource-limited country, they added.
“The next step with the Genedrive HCV assay requires prospective validation in real-life decentralized settings in low-income and middle-income countries,” the authors concluded.
SOURCE: Llibre A et al. Gut 2018 Apr 3. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315783.