A comparative evaluation of the sensitivity of seven anti-hepatitis C virus screening tests.
The sensitivity of the most recent generation of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) screening tests from seven manufacturers was evaluated with a common panel of 530 specimens from 320 HCV-infected subjects. This panel included 221 samples from 57 seroconverters (53 pre-sero conversion negative specimens and 168 positive samples) and 309 selected specimens from 263 other HCV-infected patients of which 19% exhibited NS3 or core reactivity alone with the presence of HCV-RNA assessed by PCR. None of the seven screening tests detected all infectious and antibody-positive specimens. However, important differences were observed between these assays in the number of false-negative results, which seemed mainly due to nonreactivity of antibody to the NS3 antigen.
Couroucé
A M
AM
Institut National de Transfusion Sanguine, Paris, France.
Barin
F
F
Botté
C
C
Lunel
F
F
Maisonneuve
P
P
Maniez
M
M
Trepo
C
C
D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005602:France; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies