Abstract:

Hepatitis C infections have become public health concern globally and in Ghana, 1 in14 cases of cirrhosis is caused by HCV. Diagnosis and treatment remain crucial in the control and prevention of this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of rapid assays and testing algorithms used for the screening and diagnosis of HCV in Ghana.

Structured questionnaires were sent to selected public and private laboratories across the country to elicit responses on the types of rapid assays and testing algorithms used for the screening and diagnosis of HCV. Searches in online journals, credible websites and institutions were done to access evaluation reports on the rapid kits in Ghana to determine their suitability for use and the efficiency of the algorithms. Seventeen different rapid kits were found to be in use in the facilities sampled. Only 2 out of the 17 were WHO prequalified. DiaSpot, the most widely used test kit was neither WHO pre-qualified nor FDA approved. Very limited information on evaluations was found in Ghana. All the facilities sampled use a single assay testing strategy.

This study revealed that the reliability of the rapid kits used in the testing algorithms in Ghana cannot be guaranteed and thus may not be efficient for screening and diagnoses of HCV infections in Ghana. There was also no public or private facility sampled which does Nucleic Acid Testing, making the definitive diagnosis of HCV very difficult.

Keywords: Rapid assays, Suitability, HCV, NAT.

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