A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PREVALENCE OF HCV BY RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TEST KIT AND ELISA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, ANDHRA PRADESH

Objective: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus transmitted through exposure to small quantities of blood and most commonly through blood transfusion. For diagnosing hepatitis C infection, serologic assays are the most important tools which detect the human antibodies generated as a response to hepatitis C virus. We aim to estimate the prevalence of HCV in a Tertiary care hospital. To assess the Seroprevalence of HCV by Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). To assess the Seroprevalence of HCV by ELISA. To compare the Sensitivity and Specificity of RDT with ELISA. Methods: A total of 360 serum samples were collected from patients attending outpatient departments over a period of 12 mo. These samples were tested for HCV antibody using a commercially available ELISA kit and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) Kit according to the instructions provided in the manufacturer’s manual. Results: Among the 360 samples tested, 28 samples were positive by ELISA whereas only 20 were positive by Rapid Diagnostic test kit. Majority of the samples collected were in the age group of 21-30 yrs. Positive cases were almost equally distributed in all age groups. Conclusion: The present study highlights currents cenario of HCV infection in a tertiary care hospital. RDT, though showed 100% specificity, the sensitivity was only 71.43%. It missed 8 positive cases. Hence we cannot rely on rapid tests. But as they are simple to perform, rapid and cheap, their use can be restricted only to emergency situations.