Evaluation of dried blood spot samples for screening of hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus in a real-world setting

Both hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are underdiagnosed, particularly in low-income countries and in difficult-to-access populations. Our aim was to develop and evaluate a methodology for the detection of HCV and HIV infection based on capillary dry blood spot (DBS) samples taken under real-world conditions. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 139 individuals (31 healthy controls, 68 HCV-monoinfected patients, and 40 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients). ELISA was used for anti-HCV and anti-HIV antibody detection; and SYBR Green RT-PCR was used for HCV-RNA detection. The HIV serological analysis revealed 100% sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). The HCV serological analysis revealed a sensitivity of 92.6%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, and NPV of 79.5%. Finally, the HCV-RNA detection test revealed a detection limit of 5 copies/µl with an efficiency of 100% and sensitivity of 99.1%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, and NPV of 96.9%. In conclusion, our methodology was able to detect both HCV infection and HIV infection from the same DBS sample with good diagnostic performance. Screening for HCV and HIV using DBS might be a key strategy in the implementation of national programs for the control of both infections.