Evaluation of five screening tests licensed in Argentina for detection of hepatitis C virus antibodies.
This study was conducted to compare among the most recent generation of five screening tests licensed in Argentina, in order to evaluate which of the tests has the best sensitivity for detection of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV). The tests analyzed were: Detect-HCV (3.0) Biochem ImmunoSystems, Canada; Hepatitis C EIA Wiener Lab., Argentina; Equipar HCV Ab, Italy; Murex HCV 4.0, UK and Serodia-HCV particles agglutination test, Japan. The results obtained showed high discrepancy between the different kits used and show that some of the tests assessed have a low sensitivity for anti-HCV detection in both chronic infections and early seroconversion, and indicate that among the commercially available kits in Argentina, Murex HCV 4.0 (UK) and Serodia-HCV particles agglutination test (Japan) have the best sensitivity for HCV screening. Although the sensitivity of the assays is the first parameter to be considered for blood screening, more studies should be carried out to assess the specificity of such assays.
Ré
Viviana
V
Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella, Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. contigia@cmefcm.uncor.edu
Gallego
Sandra
S
Treviño
Elena
E
Barbás
Gabriela
G
Domínguez
Claudia
C
Elbarcha
Osvaldo
O
Bepre
Héctor
H
Contigiani
Marta
M
D001118:Argentina; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic