title: Screening test accuracy among potential blood donors of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV to detect hepatitis B and C virus infection in rural Cambodia and Vietnam.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of rapid tests for HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV in rural Cambodia and Vietnam to detect hepatitis B and C. In a cross-sectional epidemiological study of two populations of 1,200 potential blood donors in rural Cambodia and Vietnam the prevalence rates of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV as established by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) tests were compared to rapid test outcomes. The EIA reference test results were validated by Architect Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) technique. The actual rapid test demonstrated high specificity for all three test categories as claimed by the manufacturer. The test sensitivity observed was significantly lower than that claimed by the manufacturer: 86.5% for HBsAg, 86.6% for anti-HBc, and 76.4% for anti-HCV. There were large and significant variations in test performance between the two countries, especially for HBsAg detection. The low sensitivity of the actual rapid tests for HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV make them useless for blood donor screening in rural Southeast Asia. Rapid tests may be useful screening tools in blood transfusion services in low-resource settings, but tests should be carefully validated locally before being used for screening purposes since test performance varies by location.
authors.affiliation: Tromsoe Mine Victim Resource Center, University Hospital of North Norway.
authors.forename: Bjoern
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bjoerkvoll
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Viet
authors.forename: Ha Sam
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Ol
authors.forename: Nguyen Thi Ngoc
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Sin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sothy
authors.forename: Hedda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoel
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gutteberg
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Husebekk
authors.forename: Stig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Husum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies