Scientists develop high-efficiency rapid test for Hepatitis B diagnosis
Scientists develop high-efficiency rapid test for Hepatitis B diagnosis
New Delhi. One of the few regular tests that one will have to get when admitted to a hospital will be for detecting hepatitis B Virus surface antigen that appears as ‘HBsAg’ under test reports. The test helps to diagnose both acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
Two types of tests are normally used: enzyme
immunoassays (EIAs), and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The enzyme immunoassays
are highly sensitive to detect the virus, while the rapid diagnostic tests are
not as sensitive and thus at times may fail to detect the virus. This makes
RDTs unsuitable particularly for the screening of blood samples for
transfusion. But, they are often used instead of EIAs in resource-poor settings
in middle and low-income countries as they are low cost and simple to use. They
can be handled even by untrained personnel. Enzyme immunoassays, in contrast,
are expensive and need skilled manpower.
In a new study, teams of researchers from
DBT-Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (DBT-THSTI), DBT-International Centre For Genetic
Engineering AndBiotechnology (DBT-ICGEB), and University of Turku,
Finland, have come together to develop an ultra-sensitive
rapid diagnostic test that circumvents the sensitivity gap.
Experiments by the researchers have shown that
the new test had a very high sensitivity even while it was based on a simple
assay procedure and did not require skilled personnel to administer. A
comparison of assay performance among patients positive and negative for HBsAg
showed that the new test had 95.4% sensitivity. In contrast, conventional rapid
tests have a sensitivity of 87.7%.
The scientists are now planning to get the
assay to the bedside in the form of a point-of-care kit and evaluate the function
of the assay in clinical settings, with freshly drawn patient samples, using a
battery-operated reader device. The study was supported by Wellcome Trust, UK,
and DBT-Biotechnology
Industry Research Assistance Council (DBT-BIRAC).
A report
on the study was published in Analytical and Bioanalytical
Chemistry. The research teamconsisted of
IidaMartiskainen, Sheikh M. Talha, KaroliinaVuorenpää, TeppoSalminen,
EtviJuntunen, Souvick Chattopadhyay, Dinesh Kumar, TyttiVuorinen, Kim
Pettersson, NavinKhanna & Gaurav Batra.
Hepatitis
B virus can be transmitted through contact with infected blood or other body
fluidsas well as perinatally from infected mothers to neonates. It is a major
health problem in low and middle-income countries. Most of the infected
individuals are asymptomatic at the earlystage of infection. However, a small
proportion of acute infections are symptomatic, and avery small proportion can
develop acute liver failure. In some individuals, HBV can causechronic liver
infection which may result in cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma leading
todeath.
Identification and treatment of asymptomatic people with chronic HBV infection shouldreduce the disease burden. However, HBV screening is non-existent in several LMIC andeven the blood donor screening is performed using tests with inadequate sensitivity. Only10.5% of all chronically infected individuals are aware of their infection.The new test couldfill the gaps.
(India Science Wire)