Parallel test of anti-HCV and HCV-RNA can enhance the ability to detect HCV infection

Objective To explore the method of enhancing the ability to detect HCV infection and to provide the advice for practical work. Methods A total of 487 samples from a village in Hebei Province were selected by cluster sampling. Serum samples were detected by anti-HCV and HCV-RNA assays. The results were compared between the two tests. The correlation of HCV-RNA quantification and its anti-HCV s/n value was analyzed. Results The positive values of anti-HCV and HCV-RNA were 22.1% and 14.2%, respectively, which were lower than that of the parallel test (χ2=4.0000, P=0.0455, χ2=42.0000, P <0.0001). The HCV-RNA quantification of the samples was positively correlated with the anti-HCV s/n value, which means anti-HCV s/n value increased with HCV-RNA quantification. Conclusion The parallel test of anti-HCV and HCV-RNA can enhance the ability to detect HCV infection. Key words: Hepatitis C; Polymerase chain reaction; Screening