• Hepatitis
• Herpes
• Hormones
• SARS-CoV-2
• Ser-Col blood collection device
• Serum
• Viruses
• Vitamins

• Humans
• Male
• Female
• Adult
• Child, Preschool
• Middle Aged
• Child
• Young Adult
• Adolescent
• Aged
• SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification
• SARS-CoV-2/immunology
• Blood Specimen Collection/instrumentation
• Communicable Diseases/diagnosis
• Communicable Diseases/blood
• Dried Blood Spot Testing/methods
• Dried Blood Spot Testing/instrumentation
• Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods
• Clinical Laboratory Techniques/instrumentation
• Clinical Laboratory Techniques/standards

• deep learning
• hepatitis B surface antigen
• naked-eye detection
• plasmonic biosensor
• smartphone-based immunoassay

• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/immunology
• Humans
• Neural Networks, Computer
• Hepatitis B/diagnosis
• Hepatitis B/virology
• Hepatitis B/immunology
• Hepatitis B/blood
• Biosensing Techniques/methods
• Hepatitis B virus/immunology
• Hepatitis B virus/isolation & purification
• Limit of Detection
• Gold/chemistry
• Deep Learning
• Surface Plasmon Resonance/methods
• Point-of-Care Systems

• Chemiluminescence
• Dried blood spot
• Finger-prick
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C

• Humans
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Dried Blood Spot Testing
• Hepatitis B/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C Antibodies
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Hepacivirus

• Dried blood spot
• HIV
• Roche
• hepatitis B
• hepatitis C
• serology
• syphilis

• Humans
• Syphilis/diagnosis
• Hepatitis B/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Hepacivirus
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• HIV Infections/diagnosis

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• antibody testing
• dried blood spots
• newborn
• newborn screening
• positive predictive value
• pregnancy
• prenatal
• seroprevalence
• serosurveillance

• Enzyme immunoassay method (EIA) -hepatitis B- Abidjan
• Validation - dried blood spot

• Dried Blood Spot
• HIV
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Syphilis
• Vulnerable population

• Humans
• Male
• Young Adult
• Adult
• Hepatitis B, Chronic/epidemiology
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
• Laos/epidemiology
• Prevalence
• Seroepidemiologic Studies
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C/epidemiology
• Hepatitis C Antibodies
• Hepatitis B virus

• National Center for Global Health and Medicine Intramural Research Fund, Japan
• Grant for the National Immunization Program, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR

• Cost comparison
• Dried blood spots
• Hepatitis B
• Rapid diagnostic tests
• Seroprevalence survey
• Vietnam

Agile, accessible and cheap diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is essential to achieve the elimination of this infection, worldwide, as mandated by the World Health Organzation as part of its strategy for 2030. Dried blood spots (DBS) can be an attractive alternative for sample collection among people living in remote areas and vulnerable populations due to the less invasive collection, its biosafety, and storage & transportation of samples at room temperature.

This study aims to estimate the usefulness of dried blood spot samples for the diagnosis and the assessment of HCV infection rates in three different settings in Brazil. Cross-sectional analysis of a sample collection from different populations, aiming to assess the performance of the testing algorithms and respective procedures among different populations with diverse background infection rates.

We reported the evaluation of DBS as alternative samples for detecting anti-HCV in different groups in real life conditions: (I) Vulnerable subjects living in remote areas of Southeast, North and Northeast Brazil (n = 1464); (II) Beauticians (n = 288); (III) People who use non-injectable drugs (n = 201); (IV) patients referred to outpatient care (n = 275).

General assay accuracy was 99%, with a weighted kappa value of 0.9, showing an excellent performance. Sensitivities ranged from 87.5% to 100.0% between groups and specificities were above 99.2%. A total of 194 individuals had HCV RNA in serum and concordance of anti-HCV detection in DBS was 98.4%.

DBS samples could be used for anti-HCV detection in different populations recruited in real life conditions and ambulatory settings, with a high overall sensitivity and specificity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-022-07717-4.

• Diagnosis
• Dried blood spot
• Hepatitis C
• Vulnerable populations

• HBV
• HBeAg
• HBsAg NEXT
• HIV Ag/Ab combo
• SARS-CoV-2
• anti-HBc II
• dried blood spots
• serology

Use of dried blood spots (DBS) for detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers of infection has the potential to facilitate diagnosis of HBV infection especially in resource-limited countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of DBS for detection of various markers of HBV infections.

Fifty-four DBS samples were engineered from well-characterized plasma samples. All DBS samples were tested for HBsAg, total anti-HBc and HBV DNA, 20 of 54 samples were also tested for HBeAg using commercially available assays. HBsAg was detected in 24 of 25 (96%), HBV DNA in 22 of 25 (88%), total anti-HBc in all 9 (100%), and HBeAg in all 7 (100%) DBS samples. The average difference in HBV DNA levels between DBS eluates and corresponding plasma samples was 2.7 log₁₀ IU/mL. Fifteen DBS eluates positive for HBV DNA were sequenced and all of them belonged to HBV genotype A. Thirteen samples which were negative for all HBV markers showed HBeAg false positivity. Therefore, DBS is a reliable sample matrix for detection of HBsAg, total anti-HBc and HBV DNA, but not HBeAg. Further feasibility studies of DBS for diagnostic purposes and epidemiologic studies are warranted.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-022-06178-x.

• Dried blood spot testing
• Hepatitis B e antigen
• Hepatitis B surface antigens
• Hepatitis B virus DNA
• Total hepatitis B core antibody

• Chronic hepatitis
• HBV and HCV elimination
• Hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus
• Resource-limited settings

Serological surveillance studies of infectious diseases provide population-level estimates of infection and antibody prevalence, generating crucial insight into population-level immunity, risk factors leading to infection, and effectiveness of public health measures. These studies traditionally rely on detection of pathogen-specific antibodies in samples derived from venipuncture, an expensive and logistically challenging aspect of serological surveillance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines implemented to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection made collection of venous blood logistically difficult at a time when SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance was urgently needed. Dried blood spots (DBS) have generated interest as an alternative to venous blood for SARS-CoV-2 serological applications due to their stability, low cost, and ease of collection; DBS samples can be self-generated via fingerprick by community members and mailed at ambient temperatures. Here, we detail the development of four DBS-based SARS-CoV-2 serological methods and demonstrate their implementation in a large serological survey of community members from 12 cities in the East Bay region of the San Francisco metropolitan area using at-home DBS collection. We find that DBS perform similarly to plasma/serum in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and commercial SARS-CoV-2 serological assays. In addition, we show that DBS samples can reliably detect antibody responses months postinfection and track antibody kinetics after vaccination. Implementation of DBS enabled collection of valuable serological data from our study population to investigate changes in seroprevalence over an 8-month period. Our work makes a strong argument for the implementation of DBS in serological studies, not just for SARS-CoV-2, but any situation where phlebotomy is inaccessible.

IMPORTANCE Estimation of community-level antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 from infection or vaccination is critical to inform public health responses. Traditional studies of antibodies rely on collection of blood via venipuncture, an invasive procedure not amenable to pandemic-related social-distancing measures. Dried blood spots (DBS) are an alternative to venipuncture, since they can be self-collected by study participants at home and do not require refrigeration for shipment or storage. However, DBS-based assays to measure antibody levels to SARS-CoV-2 have not been widely utilized. Here, we show that DBS are comparable to blood as a sampling method for antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination over time measured using four distinct serological assays. The DBS format enabled antibody surveillance in a longitudinal cohort where study participants self-collected samples, ensuring the participants’ safety during an ongoing pandemic. Our work demonstrates that DBS are an excellent sampling method for measuring antibody responses whenever venipuncture is impractical.

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• antibodies
• dried blood spot
• serology
• seroprevalence

The International Liver Association recommends the use of accurate and sensitive molecular methods for determination of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels in plasma or serum of chronic HBsAg carriers. The level of HBV replication represents the strongest predictive biomarker associated with disease progression and long-term outcome of chronic HBV infection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to the new Alinity m System to detect and quantify HBV DNA in plasma and whole blood collected on dried blood spots (DBS). Paired plasma and DBS samples from patients chronically infected with various HBV genotypes were tested in parallel for HBV DNA detection and quantification. There is a linear relationship between HBV DNA levels measured in plasma samples using the Alinity m HBV assay and the Xpert HBV viral load assay, used for comparison. A slight deviation (0.03 ± 0.31 log IU/mL) was observed within the quantitative range. In DBS, HBV DNA levels closely correlated with levels measured in plasma. All patients had detectable and quantifiable HBV DNA by DBS testing, except for one patient with a plasma HBV DNA level above 2,000 IU/mL. In conclusion, the newly developed real-time PCR-based assay Alinity m HBV assay can correctly detect HBV DNA in DBS, especially for patients with blood HBV DNA levels above 2,000 IU/mL, and also accurately quantify HBV DNA in plasma samples.

IMPORTANCE Hepatitis B virus is one of the most prevalent blood-borne viruses affecting the liver and causing acute and chronic hepatitis. Only a small proportion of people with HBV infection are diagnosed. HBV DNA measurement is critical in clinical practice for the diagnosis and treatment decisions of patients requiring antiviral therapy. Dried blood spot (DBS) collection provides a simple, practical, and acceptable alternative to venous blood collection, especially in community settings. We have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for HBV DNA detection in DBS compared to plasma samples, especially when using clinically relevant cutoffs of 2,000 and 20,000 IU/mL. Results support the use of DBS in community-based settings.

• HBV DNA
• dried blood spot
• hepatitis B virus
• real-time PCR
• whole blood

We investigate the diagnostic accuracy and predictive value of finger prick capillary dried blood spot (DBS) samples tested by a quantitative multiplex anti-immunoglobulin G (IgG) assay to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies after infection or vaccination. This cross-sectional study involved participants (n = 6,841) from several serological surveys conducted in nonhospitalized children and adults throughout 2020 and 2021 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Analysis used paired DBS and serum samples from a subset of participants (n = 642) prior to vaccination to establish signal thresholds and calculate diagnostic accuracy by logistic regression. Discrimination of the logistic regression model was assessed by receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis in an n = 2,000 bootstrap of the paired sample (n = 642). The model was cross-validated in a subset of vaccinated persons (n = 90). Unpaired DBS samples (n = 6,723) were used to evaluate anti-IgG signal distributions. In comparison to paired serum, DBS samples from an unvaccinated population possessed a sensitivity of 79% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 58 to 91%) and specificity of 97% (95% CI: 95 to 98%). ROC analysis found that DBS samples accurately classify SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion at an 88% percent rate (area under the curve [AUC] = 88% [95% CI: 80 to 95%]). In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine dose one or two recipients, the sensitivity of DBS testing increased to 97% (95% CI: 83 to 99%) and 100% (95% CI: 88 to 100%). Modeling found that DBS testing possesses a high positive predictive value (98% [95% CI: 97 to 98%]) in a population with 75% seroprevalence. We demonstrate that DBS testing should be considered to reliably detect SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity from natural infection or vaccination.

IMPORTANCE Dried blood spot samples have comparable diagnostic accuracy to serum collected by venipuncture when tested by an electrochemiluminescent assay for antibodies and should be considered to reliably detect seropositivity following SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination.

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• data analysis
• diagnostic accuracy
• dried blood spots
• epidemiology
• public health
• seropositivity
• vaccine evaluation

Early diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is essential for prompt initiation of treatment and prevention of transmission, yet several logistical barriers continue to limit access to HCV testing. Dried blood spot (DBS) technology involves a simple fingerstick that eliminates the need for trained personnel, and DBS can be stored and transported at room temperature. We evaluated the use of DBS whole blood samples in the modified Abbott ARCHITECT anti-HCV assay, comparing assay performance against the standard assay run using DBS and venous plasma samples. 144 HCV positive and 104 HCV negative matched venous plasma and whole blood specimens were selected from a retrospective study with convenience sampling in Cameroon. Results obtained using a modified volume DBS assay were highly correlated to the results of the standard assay run with plasma on clinical samples and dilution series (R² = 0.71 and 0.99 respectively). The ARCHITECT Anti-HCV assay with input volume modification more accurately detects HCV antibodies in DBS whole blood samples with 100% sensitivity and specificity, while the standard assay had 90.97% sensitivity. The use of DBS has the potential to expand access to HCV testing to underserved or marginalized populations with limited access to direct HCV care.

• diagnostic accuracy
• dried blood spot
• hepatitis C
• reflex testing
• screening
• systematic review

• Senegal
• child
• hepatitis B
• prevalence
• risk factors

• HCV core antigen
• HCV elimination
• dried blood spot
• hepatitis C diagnosis
• hepatitis C-self testing
• nucleic acid amplification technologies
• one-step screening
• point-of-care test
• rapid diagnostic tests
• reflex RNA testing

The World Health Organization (WHO) has targeted a reduction in viral hepatitis-related mortality by 65% and incidence by 90% by 2030, necessitating enhanced hepatitis B treatment and prevention programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) status is used in the assessment of eligibility for antiviral treatment and for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Accordingly, the WHO has classified HBeAg rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as essential medical devices.

We assessed the performance characteristics of three commercially available HBeAg RDTs (SD Bioline, Alere, South Africa; Creative Diagnostics, USA; and Biopanda Reagents, UK) in two hepatitis B surface antigen-positive cohorts in Blantyre, Malawi: participants of a community study (n = 100) and hospitalised patients with cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 94). Two investigators, blinded to the reference test result, independently assessed each assay. We used an enzyme-linked immunoassay (Monolisa HBeAg, Bio-Rad, France) as a reference test and quantified HBeAg concentration using dilutions of the WHO HBeAg standard. We related the findings to HBV DNA levels, and evaluated treatment eligibility using the TREAT-B score.

Among 194 HBsAg positive patients, median age was 37 years, 42% were femaleand 26% were HIV co-infected. HBeAg prevalence was 47/194 (24%). The three RDTs showed diagnostic sensitivity of 28% (95% CI 16–43), 53% (38–68) and 72% (57–84) and specificity of 96–100% for detection of HBeAg. Overall inter-rater agreement κ statistic was high at 0.9–1.0. Sensitivity for identifying patients at the threshold where antiviral treatment is recommended for PMTCT, with HBV DNA > 200,000 IU/ml (39/194; 20%), was 22, 49 and 54% respectively. Using the RDTs in place of the reference HBeAg assay resulted in 3/43 (9%), 5/43 (12%) and 8/43 (19%) of patients meeting the TREAT-B treatment criteria being misclassified as ineligible for treatment. A relationship between HBeAg concentration and HBeAg detection by RDT was observed. A minimum HBeAg concentration of 2.2–3.1 log₁₀IU/ml was required to yield a reactive RDT.

Commercially available HBeAg RDTs lack sufficient sensitivity to accurately classify hepatitis B patients in Malawi. This has implications for hepatitis B public health programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Alternative diagnostic assays are recommended.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06134-3.

• Africa south of the Sahara
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis B e antigens
• Malawi
• Reagent kits, diagnostic
• Sensitivity and specificity

Serologic testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies can be used to confirm diagnosis, estimate seroprevalence, screen convalescent plasma donors, and assess vaccine efficacy. Dried blood spot (DBS) samples have been used for serology testing of various diseases in resource-limited settings. We examined the use of DBS samples and capillary blood (fingerstick) plasma collected in Microtainer tubes for SARS-CoV-2 testing with the automated Abbott ARCHITECT™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM assays and use of venous whole blood with a prototype PANBIO™ rapid point-of-care lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. The ARCHITECT™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay was initially optimized for use with DBS, venous and capillary plasma, and venous whole blood collected from patients with symptoms and PCR-confirmed COVID-19 and negative asymptomatic controls. Linearity and reproducibility was confirmed with 3 contrived DBS samples, along with sample stability and signal recovery after 14 days. ARCHITECT™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM assay results showed high concordance between fingerstick DBS and venous DBS samples, and between fingerstick DBS and venous whole blood samples (n = 61). Fingerstick plasma collected in Microtainer tubes (n = 109) showed 100% concordant results (R²=0.997) with matched patient venous plasma on the ARCHITECT™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. High concordance of assay results (92.9% positive, 100% negative) was also observed for the PANBIO™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay compared to the ARCHITECT™ SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay run with matched venous plasma (n = 61). Fingerstick DBS and plasma samples are easy and inexpensive to collect and, along with the use of rapid point-of-care testing platforms, will expand access to SARS-CoV-2 serology testing, particularly in resource-limited areas.

• Antibodies
• Dried blood spots
• Microtainer
• Rapid diagnostics
• SARS-CoV-2

• analytical validation
• diagnostic test
• dried blood spot
• hepatitis B core-related antigen
• resource-limited country

• Biomonitoring
• Children
• Dried blood spots
• Nonpersistent organic pollutants
• Organic toxicants
• Persistent organic pollutants

• Biological Monitoring
• Child
• Dried Blood Spot Testing
• Environmental Exposure/analysis
• Humans
• Infant, Newborn
• Organic Chemicals
• Reproducibility of Results
• Retrospective Studies

• U2C ES026544 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U2C ES026542 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U2C ES026553 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U24 ES026539 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U2C ES026560 NIEHS NIH HHS
• P30 ES017885 NIEHS NIH HHS
• P30 ES019776 NIEHS NIH HHS
• R21 ES023927 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U2C ES030857 NIEHS NIH HHS
• U2C ES026561 NIEHS NIH HHS
• P30 ES007033 NIEHS NIH HHS
• P30 ES023515 NIEHS NIH HHS

• HCV
• HCV elimination
• direct-acting antivirals
• global health
• testing strategies

• G0701649 Medical Research Council
• MR/N007999/1 Medical Research Council

• Kinshasa
• direct-acting antivirals
• dried blood spots
• genotype 4
• hepatitis C virus
• resistance-associated substitutions

• 045-2015 Gobierno de Navarra
• PI16/01908 Fondo de Investigación en Salud-FIS, Gobierno de España

• dried plasma spot
• hepatitis C
• plasma separation card

• Dried Blood spot
• Enzyme immunoassay
• Hepatitis C virus
• In vitro diagnostics
• Sensitivity
• Specificity

• COVID-19
• Dried blood spots
• SARS-CoV-2
• antibodies
• enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

• Antibodies, Viral/immunology
• COVID-19/diagnosis
• COVID-19/immunology
• COVID-19 Serological Testing
• Dried Blood Spot Testing
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Humans
• Immunoglobulin G/immunology
• SARS-CoV-2/immunology
• Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology

• Wellcome Trust
• HCRW_HF-19-1595 HCRW_

• Dried blood spots
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis D

• Dried Blood Spot Testing
• Hepacivirus
• Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
• Hepatitis, Viral, Human
• Humans
• Prospective Studies
• Reflex
• Sensitivity and Specificity
• Viral Load

• HCV
• dried blood spot
• high risk
• point‐of‐care
• screening

• Bristol‐Myers Squibb Foundation

By 2040, deaths from chronic viral hepatitis worldwide are projected to exceed those from human immunodeficiency virus infection, tuberculosis and malaria combined. The burden of this disease is predominantly carried by low-resource countries in Africa and Asia. In resource-rich countries, the epidemiological spread of viral hepatitis is partially driven by migrant movements from areas of high endemicity. In the last decade, Member States of the European Union and the European Economic Area have experienced an unprecedented influx of migrants, which has resulted in the polarization of political views about migration. In addition, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has worsened the economic and health conditions of migrants and contributed to hostility to ensuring their health rights. Moreover, the implementation of hostile laws in some host nations has increased the vulnerability of marginalized migrant subgroups, such as asylum seekers and undocumented individuals. These developments have complicated the historical challenge of identifying high-risk migrant groups for screening and treatment. However, if European countries can apply the simplified assessment tools and diagnostic tests for viral hepatitis that have been used for decentralized screening and monitoring in resource-poor countries, the uptake of care by migrants could be dramatically increased. Given the global calls for the elimination of viral hepatitis, European nations should recognize the importance of treating this vulnerable migrant population. Political and health strategies need to be adapted to meet this challenge and help eliminate viral hepatitis globally.

• Hepatitis C viral RNA
• Partial least square regression analysis
• Principal component analysis
• Silver nanoparticles
• Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• DBS
• HCV
• Hepatitis C
• diagnostic accuracy
• dried blood spot
• screening
• systematic review
• testing

• Abbott
• Alinity
• DBS
• HBV
• HCV
• HIV

Although preventable by vaccination for more than a century, rabies virus still causes numerous fatalities every year. To determine antibody levels in humans, blood collected with a finger prick and applied on dried blood spot (DBS) cards is an alternative for venipuncture. The use of DBS is specifically valuable in remote areas, as it is easy to perform, store and transport. Therefore, the technique is frequently used for epidemiological studies of tropical diseases. Up to present, determination of rabies virus antibody levels on human DBS has not been validated.

We evaluated the use of human DBS for rabies serology and analyzed 99 pre- or post-vaccination serum and DBS samples with a fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test (FAVNt), which is the gold standard to detect protective antibody levels, and a Bio-Rad Platelia Rabies II ELISA. Sensitivity and specificity of DBS eluates tested with the FAVNt were 97% and 92%, respectively and 87% and 96% when tested with the Platelia-II ELISA. Antibody levels measured in serum with the FAVNt, correlated best with antibody levels measured in DBS with the FAVNt (R = 0.88).

This is the first study that applies DBS for reliable detection of human antibodies against rabies virus. Both the FAVNt and Platelia-II ELISA demonstrate an acceptable performance on DBS, providing opportunities for rabies serology in remote areas. This technique could drastically ease studies evaluating (novel) rabies vaccination strategies and monitoring persisting immunity in humans at risk, living in rabies endemic regions.

Rabies is a nearly 100% fatal disease in humans. However, available vaccines are effective in preventing rabies infection. To investigate if a person is protected against rabies, rabies virus neutralizing antibody levels in the blood are determined. The World Health Organization defines protective immunity as a rabies virus antibody concentration of at least 0.5 IU/ml detected in serum using a virus neutralization test. Yet, in remote areas serum may be rather difficult to collect, process and transport. Whole blood collected with a finger prick and applied on filter paper cards, also known as dried blood spots (DBS), are an easier alternative. This collection method is frequently used for serology of several tropical infectious diseases, but never studied for rabies serology in humans. Therefore, we compared antibody levels measured in serum with those measured in DBS eluates, using the gold standard FAVNt and related it to another commonly used test for human rabies serology, the Platelia-II ELISA. We found that both assays had a good performance on DBS eluates. The reported high specificities provide confidence that unprotected individuals will rarely be missed. Therefore, the DBS is a promising sampling technique for evaluations of vaccination strategies and monitoring persisting immunity after vaccination in populations at risk for rabies.

• Antibodies, Viral/blood
• Dried Blood Spot Testing/methods
• Humans
• Rabies/blood
• Rabies/diagnosis
• Rabies/virology
• Rabies virus/immunology
• Rabies virus/isolation & purification
• Sensitivity and Specificity

• hepatitis B
• hepatitis elimination
• point-of-care testing
• public health

• Hepatitis B/diagnosis
• Humans
• Point-of-Care Testing/standards

• Africa, Central
• Africa, Western
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Decision Trees
• Feasibility Studies
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Humans
• Models, Statistical
• Point-of-Care Testing/economics
• Time Factors