SD BIOLINE HCV Versus HCV Rapid Test Strip (DiaSpot©): A Comparative Study Of Rapid Screening Tests For Viral Hepatitis C

Rapid screening tests (RDTs) for infections are proliferating in Africa. In Cameroon, there are about ten viral hepatitis C (HVC) RDTs. Among these tests, some like SD BIOLINE HCV are prequalified by the WHO and others are not, like HCV Rapid Test Strip (DiaSpot ). The objective of this study was to compare and evaluate the performance of SD BIOLINE HCV and HCV Rapid Test Strip (DiaSpot ). 50 samples were selected at the Douala military hospital. Among these samples, 22 were positive and 28 were negative in the anti-HCV ELISA test (AUTOBIO DIAGNOSTICS CO., LTD). SD BIOLINE HCV and HCV Rapid Test Strip (DiaSpot ) were used to search for HCV antibodies in the serum of 50 patients. For each RDT, the sensitivity, specificity, Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) were calculated. HCV Rapid Test Strip (DiaSpot ) showed sensitivity, specificity, NPV and PPV equal to 100%, 82.14%, 100% and 81.48% respectively. And SD BIOLINE HCV presented 100% value for sensitivity, specificity, NPV and PPV. The reproducibility of SD BIOLINE HCV on 15 patients was 100%.

Conclusion: According to our study, the SD BIOLINE HCV and HCV Rapid Test Strip TDRs (DiaSpot ) exhibit excellent sensitivities. According to the operational criteria, although SD BIOLINE HCV is superior, both RDTs are appropriate for screening for viral hepatitis C.