Stability of hepatitis C virus RNA and anti-HCV antibody in air-dried and freeze-dried human plasma samples.
J Virol Methods
; 253: 53-55, 2018 03.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29248530
ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is based on testing for antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV), hepatitis C core antigen (HCV cAg) and HCV RNA. To ensure quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA), proficiency panels are provided by reference laboratories and various international organizations, requiring costly dry ice shipments to maintain specimen integrity. Alternative methods of specimen preservation and transport can save on shipping and handling and help in improving diagnostics by facilitating QA/QC of various laboratories especially in resource limited countries. Plasma samples positive for anti-HCV and HCV RNA were either dried using dried tube specimens (DTS) method or lyophilization for varying durations of time and temperature. Preservation of samples using DTS method resulted in loss of anti-HCV reactivity for low-positive samples and did not generate enough volume for HCV RNA testing. Lyophilized samples tested positive for anti-HCV even after storage at 4⯰C and 25⯰C for 12 weeks. Further, HCV RNA was detectable in 5 of 5 (100%) samples over the course of 12 week storage at 4, 25, 37 and 45⯰C. In conclusion, lyophilization of specimens maintains integrity of plasma samples for testing for markers of HCV infection and can be a potent mode of sharing proficiency samples without incurring huge shipping costs and avoids challenges with dry ice shipments between donor and recipient laboratories.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
2_ODS3
Problema de salud:
2_enfermedades_transmissibles
Asunto principal:
Hepatitis C
/
Hepacivirus
/
Anticuerpos contra la Hepatitis C
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Virol Methods
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos