Background and objectives: Enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA) are the most widely used anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening tests but simple, instrument and electricity-free screening tests have been developed with results available in a few minutes.
Methods: The sensitivity of a rapid immuno-chromatographic assay for the detection of anti-HCV antibodies was evaluated on 421 HCV RNA-positive samples from chronic carriers and compared with ELISA method.
Results: The sensitivity of the ELISA method was 99.3% and the sensitivity of the rapid test was 95.5%. False negative results were independent of HCV genotype, but were associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive status. Among HIV-negative people, sensitivities of the rapid test and the EIA assay were 99.2% and 100%, respectively. Whereas among HIV-positive people, sensitivities were 77.5% and 96.3%.
Conclusions: The immuno-chromatographic test is rapid and simple, and could be used along with rapid anti-HIV determination, in settings with limited facilities or when rapid results are required.