Laboratory assays diagnosis management hepatitis c virus infection

All health care practitioners need to understand how to establish or exclude a diagnosis of HCV infection and to interpret the tests correctly. In the absence of a preventive or therapeutic vaccine, and also of post-exposure prophylaxis against the virus, it is imperative to diagnose infection by HCV so as to prevent hepatic insult and the ensuing complications that follow, including primary hepatocellular carcinoma HCC.

This review aims to help blood bank staff regarding options for diagnosis and management of donors positive for HCV. Keywords: Blood borne virus; hepatitis C virus diagnosis; nucleic acid test.

Publication types Review. The hepatitis C virus HCV infects more than million people globally, with increasing incidence, especially in developing countries.

HCV infection frequently progresses to chronic liver disease, creating a heavy economic burden on resource-poor countries and lowering patient quality of life. Effective HCV diagnosis, treatment selection, and treatment monitoring are important in stopping disease progression. Serological assays, which detect anti-HCV antibodies in the patient after seroconversion, are used for initial HCV diagnosis. Qualitative and quantitative molecular assays are used to confirm initial diagnosis, determine viral load, and genotype the dominant strain.

Viral load and genotype information are used to guide appropriate treatment.