Current and future hepatitis C virus diagnostic testing: problems and advancements

Hepatitis C virus: Why an Enigma?

“…Various test available for detection of HCV infection and disease are listed in Table 1 Viral diagnostic tests have continuously improved since the first anti HCV assay was made available in 1990. The first generation anti HCV assays used epitope from C100-3 region of NS4 [29,30]. These assays could identify 80% of HCV positive patients but there was a long window period from 6 weeks to 6 months.…”

“…These assays could identify 80% of HCV positive patients but there was a long window period from 6 weeks to 6 months. The diagnosis of HCV infection significantly improved with the introduction of newer generation multi antigen Enzyme immunoassays and recombinant immunoblot assays (RIBA) [30]. These tests contained recombinant polypeptides from the immunodominant regions of core, NS3 and NS4.…”

“…Highly sensitive and specific assays capable of detecting HCV antigens either alone or in combination with antibodies are now available [28,30]. It is thought that these can be used as an alternative to HCV nucleic acid testing for confirmation of screening test result.…”

Evaluation of five screening tests licensed in Argentina for detection of hepatitis C virus antibodies

“…The long negative antibody period associated with the first generation test was reduced by an average of five weeks (Majid & Gretch 2002).…”

The Use of Anti-HCV IgM as an Additional Marker for Hepatitis C Viral Replication in Patients with Hepatitis C Infection

“…Detection of specific total anti-HCV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunoassay is the most widely used assay for laboratory diagnosis of HCV infections. The sensitivity of the commercial tests has increased up to 98% in the last decade, which has significantly reduced the window period [ 4 ]. Anti-HCV is detectable in 50% to 70% of the patients at the onset of clinical symptoms [ 5 ].…”