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Published in the current issue of
the Annals of Internal Medicine, a new study led by the Research Institute of
the McGill University Health Center provides analysis that will potentially
lead to updates in screening practices and ultimately affect the control of
hepatitis C infection globally. The study is the first to show that hepatitis C
rapid and point-of-care tests with a quick-turnaround time are highly accurate
and can be as reliable as the more conventional laboratory tests. According to
senior author Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, assistant professor in the Department of
Medicine at McGill University and clinical researcher at the RI MUHC, it was
determined that the point-of-care and rapid tests in oral fluids and blood were
97 to 99 percent accurate.
While conventional lab testing is
available within developed countries, it is available only to those who visit
community clinics or specialized hospitals and for those who have exhibited a
risk profile and have warranted screening. Typically, results are available
within a week, but may only be communicated to the patient during a follow-up
visit, which may be as much as 1 to 3 months later. This may result in no
follow-up and may also allow further transmission of the virus in the
community. Accurate and reliable point-of-care and rapid tests offer an
alternative to the standard tests. They can provide results within 30 minutes,
and many do not require electricity.
Explains the study’s co-author Dr.
Rosanna Peeling, professor and chair of diagnostics research at the London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, more than 170 million individuals
are infected with hepatitis C worldwide, but the effect of the disease is
highest in Africa and Asia. “With promising oral drugs for Hepatitis C on the
horizon, accurate and reliable point-of-care and rapid tests will allow
millions of infected individuals worldwide to be diagnosed and treated.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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