Prevalence of non-A, non-B hepatitis/hepatitis C virus antibody in laboratory quality-assurance sera.
Quality-assurance sera (QAS) are prepared from pooled sera composed of thousands of individual donations. Previous studies documented that a substantial percentage of individual QAS test positive for viral disease markers, including antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus and to hepatitis B surface antigen. We tested 239 QAS from various proficiency programs and commercial sources to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody. We tested samples for anti-HCV by using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA; Abbott Labs.) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Ortho Diagnostics). We observed an overall positive rate of 49% by one or both assays in all categories of sera tested. In addition, we found a greater rate of positivity (58%) in proficiency program samples than in commercial samples (43%). We found discrepant results between the two assays for 15 of 239 samples (6%). In the discrepant samples, the EIA result was positive, whereas the ELISA result was negative. Anti-HCV positivity in QAS has important implications for laboratory personnel handling these samples.
Dodd
L G
LG
Department of Pathology, University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Sciences 90024.
McBride
J H
JH
Gitnick
G L
GL
Howanitz
P J
PJ
Rodgerson
D O
DO
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care
D000914:Antibodies, Viral