The performance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody point‐of‐care tests on oral fluid or whole blood and dried blood spot testing for HCV serology and viral load among individuals at higher risk for HCV in South Africa

Abstract

To enhance screening and diagnosis in those at‐risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV), efficient and improved sampling and testing is required. We investigated the performance of point‐of‐care (POC) tests and dried blood spots (DBS) for HCV antibody and HCV RNA quantification in individuals at higher risk for HCV (people who use and inject drugs, sex workers and men who have sex with men) in seven South African cities.