Technique of detection of hepatitis c virus core antigen used in safety blood transfusion

Objective To evaluate the feasibility to screen donor with hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection by HCV core antigen ELISA(HCV-cAgELISA). Methods 183 anti-HCV positive, 6370 anti-HCV negative (including 120 specimens with HbsAg+ )serum specimens by using HCV-cAgELISA and HCV RT-PCR methods. Results Comparing with HCV RT-PCR, the detection results of HCV-cAgELISA consistency were 92.34% in anti-HCV positive serum specimens and 99.97% in anti-HCV negative serum specimens, respectively. In 6370 anti-HCV negative specimens, 1 serum sample was positive HCV RNA identification in 3 serum specimens which were positive for HCV-cAgELISA. HCV RNA copies and HCV-cAg positive rate was a positive correlation. Conclusion Sensitivity of HCVcAg ELISA is silllilar to HCV RT-PCR. HCVcAgELISA is a simple, fast, and reliable memod to screen donor with HCV infection in blood transfusion medicine. Key words: Hepatitis viruses; Blood donors; Hepatitis C antigens