People who inject drugs (PWIDs) are primarily the high-risk population for HCV infection. This study aims to determine the optimal cut-off values for predicting HCV infection status based on the Signal-to-Cutoff (S/CO) ratio. In this study, a total of 719 PWIDs’ samples were collected, and performed for screening test by ELISA assay, and followed by RIBA assay and NAT assay to detect HCV antibody and HCV RNA levels, respectively. The findings revealed that the prevalence of HCV infection among PWIDs was 54.66% (393/719), and the false-positive rate of HCV antibody detection by ELISA assay among PWIDs was only 3.85% (16/416). In addition, when the optimal cut-off value for S/CO ratio was 2.0, the sensitivity and specificity of HCV antibody were 100.00% and 93.55%, respectively. And when the optimal cut-off value for S/CO ratio was 21.36, the sensitivity and specificity of HCV RNA positive were 89.90% and 72.73%, respectively. In conclusion, the status of HCV infection can be predicted based on the S/CO ratios of the ELISA assay, which can improve diagnosis and facilitate timely treatment to effectively prevent the spread of HCV infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the second most common cause of chronic liver disease in South Korea, with a prevalence ranging from 0.6% to 0.8%, and HCV infection incidence increases with age. The anti-HCV antibody test, which is cheaper than the HCV RNA assay, is widely used to screen for HCV infections; however, the underdiagnosis of HCV is a major barrier to the elimination of HCV infections. Although several risk factors have been associated with HCV infections, including intravenous drug use, blood transfusions, and hemodialysis, most patients with HCV infections present with no identifiable risk factors. Universal screening for HCV in adults has been suggested to improve the detection of HCV infections. We reviewed the cost-effectiveness of HCV screening and the methodologies used to perform screening. Recent studies have suggested that universal HCV screening and treatment using direct-acting antivirals represent cost-effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of HCV infection. However, the optimal timing and frequency of HCV screening remain unclear, and further studies are necessary to determine the best approaches for the elimination of HCV infections.

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis D
• Hepatitis E
• Treatment

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis, Viral, Human/diagnosis
• Hepatitis, Viral, Human/drug therapy
• Hepatitis, Viral, Human/epidemiology
• Humans
• Liver Transplantation
• Vaccination

• Egypt
• Epidemiology
• Hepatitis B virus
• Hepatitis C virus
• Mass screening

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Community Health Services/organization & administration
• Egypt/epidemiology
• Female
• Hepacivirus/isolation & purification
• Hepatitis B/diagnosis
• Hepatitis B/epidemiology
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C/epidemiology
• Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood
• Humans
• Male
• Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data
• Middle Aged
• Prevalence
• Seroepidemiologic Studies

• NA Tahya Misr Egyptian National Fund

Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OCI) may be associated with extrahepatic diseases and it is known that the patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are on hemodialysis (HD) present a higher prevalence of this type of infection than the general population, with a worse clinical outcome. However, there are no data in the literature to assess the presence of OCI in patients prior to the initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the occurrence and epidemiological aspects of OCI in patients with Predialysis CKD. We hypothesize that this infection could occur before RRT initiation.

To research the status in predialysis patients when HD patients have high prevalence of OCI.

A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2015 and 2017. Adults with creatinine clearance < 60 mL/min·1.73 m² (predialysis patients) were recruited to the study. Pregnant and postpartum women, patients with glomerulopathies, and patients showing positivity for serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV), HCV or human immunodeficiency virus infection were excluded. Patients were diagnosed with OCI according to test results of anti-HCV antibody negativity and HCV RNA positivity in either ultracentrifuged serum or, if serum-negative, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Among the 91 total patients included in the study, the prevalence of OCI was 16.5%. Among these 15 total OCI patients, 1 was diagnosed by 14 ultracentrifuged serum results and 14 were diagnosed by peripheral blood mononuclear cell results. Compared to the non-OCI group, the OCI patients presented higher frequency of older age (P = 0.002), patients with CKD of mixed etiology (P = 0.019), and patients with markers of previous HBV infection (i.e., combined positivity for anti-hepatitis B core protein antibody and anti-hepatitis B surface protein antibody) (P = 0.001).

Among predialysis patients, OCI involved the elderly, patients with CKD of mixed etiology, and patients with previous HBV infection.

• Occult hepatitis infection
• Chronic hepatitis C
• Chronic kidney disease
• Hemodialysis
• Hepatitis C virus-RNA
• Peripheral blood mononuclear cells

• MABA
• hepatitis C virus
• immunodiagnosis
• synthetic peptides

Blood transfusion is an essential and life-saving medical intervention. Despite multiple preventive measures transfusion-transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to be a major healthcare issue in Pakistan. This study was conducted at National Institute of Blood Diseases & Bone Marrow Transplantation to evaluate the frequency of active HCV infection with or without co-infection in blood donors and also to determine comparative efficacy of Multisure HCV antibody assay (MHAA); a new serological device.

A total of 14652 blood donors visiting National Institute of Blood Diseases & Bone Marrow Transplantation (NIBD) Blood Bank from January 2013 to July 2014 were enrolled and screened for a range of blood borne infections such as HBV, HCV, HIV, malaria and syphilis. The HCV was screened simultaneously by Abbot Architect anti-HCV assay (CLIA) and MHAA. The active HCV infection was confirmed by nucleic acid testing (NAT) in reactive donors. Later; for determination of comparative efficacy of MHAA; all NAT positive samples were further tested using Monolisa™, HCV blot 3.0, Anti-HCV plus V2 and Anti-HCV-MPBIO-EIA.

The HCV reactive sera were observed in 1.563% (226) donors. The NAT confirmed active HCV infection in 138 donors. Overall 27.84% of HCV positive donors exhibited co-infection either with HBV (2.57%), syphilis (22.78%). Triple infection was not observed in any donor. The efficacy of MHAA is comparable to all the serological tests with a sensitivity of about 96.89%.

Active HCV infection was present in 0.94% donors. With a sensitivity of 96.89% (95% CI: 95.66-98.12) the multi-parametric device MHAA can effectively detect HCV infection in donors. Thus, it can be used in limited health care settings for HCV screening.

• Active HCV infection
• Blood donors

• Dual-labeling
• hepatitis C virus
• time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay

• Architect anti-HCV assay
• Elecsys anti-HCV II assay
• Mindray anti-HCV assay
• anti-HCV
• diagnostic performance
• hepatitis C virus

• Anti–hepatitis C antibody
• Hepatitis C virus
• Immunoassays
• Recombinant immunoblot assay

• Adult
• Egypt
• Female
• Hepacivirus/immunology
• Hepacivirus/isolation & purification
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C/virology
• Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood
• Humans
• Immunoassay/methods
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
• Reproducibility of Results
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Young Adult

• HCV diagnosis
• chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay
• enzyme immunoassay
• hepatitis C virus

• Elecsys Anti-HCV II assay
• anti-HCV
• diagnostic performance
• hepatitis C virus
• signal-to-cut-off ratio

• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis C antibodies
• Immunoassay
• Immunoblotting
• Immunoenzyme techniques
• Real-time polymerase chain reaction

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) still represents a major public health threat, with a dramatic burden from both epidemiological and clinical points of view. New generation of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has been recently introduced in clinical practice promising to cure HCV and to overcome the issues related to the interferon-based therapies. However, the emergence of drug resistance and the suboptimal activity of DAAs therapies against diverse HCV genotypes have been observed, determining treatment failure and hampering an effective control of HCV spread worldwide. Moreover, these treatments remain poorly accessible, particularly in low-income countries. Finally, effective screening strategy is crucial to early identifying and treating all HCV chronically infected patients. For all these reasons, even though new drugs may contribute to impacting HCV spread worldwide a preventive HCV vaccine remains a cornerstone in the road to significantly reduce the HCV spread globally, with the ultimate goal of its eradication. Advances in molecular vaccinology, together with a strong financial, political, and societal support, will enable reaching this fundamental success in the coming years. In this comprehensive review, the state of the art about these major topics in the fight against HCV and the future of research in these fields are discussed.

• Anti-HCV
• Enzyme linked fluorescent assay

• Elecsys
• HCV
• evaluation

More than twenty years of study has provided a better understanding of hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle, including the general properties of viral RNA and proteins. This effort facilitates the development of sensitive diagnostic tools and effective antiviral treatments. At present, serologic screening test is recommended to perform on individuals in the high risk groups and nucleic acid tests are recommended to confirm the active HCV infections. Quantization and genotyping of HCV RNAs are important to determine the optimal duration of anti-viral therapy and predict the likelihood of response. In the early 2000s, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin became the standard anti-HCV treatment. However, this therapy is not ideal. To 2014, boceprevir, telaprevir, simeprevir, sofosbuvir and Harvoni are approved by Food and Drug Administration for the treat of HCV infections. It is likely that the new all-oral, interferon-free, pan-genotyping anti-HCV therapy will be available within the next few years. Majority of HCV infections will be cured by these anti-viral treatments. However, not all patients are expected to be cured due to viral resistance and the high cost of antiviral treatments. Thus, an efficient prophylactic vaccine will be the next challenge in the fight against HCV infection.

• Hepatitis C virus
• Diagnosis
• Treatment
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Nucleic acid test
• Enzyme immunoassay
• Interferon
• Direct acting antivirals
• Host-targeted agents
• Sofosbuvir

• Asia
• Assay
• Elecsys(®) Anti-HCV II
• Sensitivity
• Seroconversion sensitivity
• Specificity

Hepatitis C is a liver disease that is transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected person. An estimated 150 million individuals worldwide have been chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C shows significant genetic variation in the global population, due to the high rate of viral RNA mutation. There are six variants of the virus (HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), with 15 recorded subtypes that vary in prevalence across different regions of the world. A variety of devices are used to diagnose hepatitis C, including HCV antibody test, HCV viral load test, HCV genotype test and liver biopsy. Rapid, inexpensive, sensitive, and robust analytical devices are therefore essential for effective diagnosis and monitoring of disease treatment. This review provides an overview of current electrochemical immunosensor and genosensor technologies employed in HCV detection. There are a limited number of publications showing electrochemical biosensors being used for the detection of HCV. Due to their simplicity, specificity, and reliability, electrochemical biosensor devices have potential clinical applications in several viral infections.

• Hepatitis C virus
• Immunosensors
• Genosensors
• Electrochemical detection
• Diagnostic tests

• Animals
• Biosensing Techniques
• DNA, Viral/genetics
• Genetic Markers
• Genetic Testing
• Genotype
• Hepacivirus/genetics
• Hepacivirus/immunology
• Hepatitis C/blood
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C/genetics
• Hepatitis C/immunology
• Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood
• Humans
• Immunologic Tests
• Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Prognosis
• Viral Load

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a major public health issue. Hepatitis C can be cured by therapy, but many infected individuals are unaware of their status. Effective HCV screening, fast diagnosis and characterization, and hepatic fibrosis staging are highly relevant for controlling transmission, treating infected patients and, consequently, avoiding end-stage liver disease. Exposure to HCV can be determined with high sensitivity and specificity with currently available third generation serology assays. Additionally, the use of point-of-care tests can increase HCV screening opportunities. However, active HCV infection must be confirmed by direct diagnosis methods. Additionally, HCV genotyping is required prior to starting any treatment. Increasingly, high-volume clinical laboratories use different types of automated platforms, which have simplified sample processing, reduced hands-on-time, minimized contamination risks and human error and ensured full traceability of results. Significant advances have also been made in the field of fibrosis stage assessment with the development of non-invasive methods, such as imaging techniques and serum-based tests. However, no single test is currently available that is able to completely replace liver biopsy. This review focuses on approved commercial tools used to diagnose HCV infection and the recommended hepatic fibrosis staging tests.

• Hepatitis C virus
• Diagnosis
• Real-time polymerase chain reaction
• Serology
• Hepatitis C virus-RNA quantification
• Hepatitis C virus genotyping
• Hepatic fibrosis staging

• Biopsy
• Communicable Disease Control/methods
• Fibrosis
• Genotype
• Hepacivirus
• Hepatitis C/blood
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Humans
• Immunoblotting
• Liver/pathology
• Liver Cirrhosis/pathology
• Liver Cirrhosis/virology
• Point-of-Care Systems
• RNA, Viral/metabolism
• Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Serologic Tests/methods
• Severity of Illness Index

• Aged
• Analysis of Variance
• Atherosclerosis/complications
• Atherosclerosis/epidemiology
• Blood Glucose/metabolism
• Carotid Intima-Media Thickness
• Case-Control Studies
• Cholesterol, LDL/blood
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Hepatitis C, Chronic/blood
• Hepatitis C, Chronic/complications
• Hepatitis C, Chronic/epidemiology
• Homeostasis
• Humans
• Insulin/blood
• Insulin Resistance
• Japan/epidemiology
• Male
• Models, Biological
• Triglycerides/blood

• DNA-HBV
• RNA-HCV
• Real-time
• TMA
• genotyping
• serological markers.

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in Germany has been estimated to be in the range of 0.4–0.63%. Screening for HCV is recommended in patients with elevated ALT levels or significant risk factors for HCV transmission only. However, 15–30% of patients report no risk factors and ALT levels can be normal in up to 20–30% of patients with chronic HCV infection. The aim of this study was to assess the HCV seroprevalence in patients visiting two tertiary care emergency departments in Berlin and Frankfurt, respectively.

Between May 2008 and March 2010, a total of 28,809 consecutive patients were screened for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. Anti-HCV positive sera were subsequently tested for HCV-RNA.

The overall HCV seroprevalence was 2.6% (95% CI: 2.4–2.8; 2.4% in Berlin and 3.5% in Frankfurt). HCV-RNA was detectable in 68% of anti-HCV positive cases. Thus, the prevalence of chronic HCV infection in the overall study population was 1.6% (95% CI 1.5–1.8). The most commonly reported risk factor was former/current injection drug use (IDU; 31.2%) and those with IDU as the main risk factor were significantly younger than patients without IDU (p<0.001) and the male-to-female ratio was 72% (121 vs. 46 patients; p<0.001). Finally, 18.8% of contacted HCV-RNA positive patients had not been diagnosed previously.

The HCV seroprevalence was more than four times higher compared to current estimates and almost one fifth of contacted HCV-RNA positive patients had not been diagnosed previously.