A new test for the detection of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C with a single drop of blood was presented at this year’s European Conference of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), eliminating these three viruses – which cause 1.5 million new infections and 650,000 deaths each year – by 2030 is one of its global health strategies.
The test works by pricking a person’s finger and collecting a few spots of blood on a filter paper before allowing it to dry. The Hologic Panther System, a testing equipment found in public health laboratories, is used to analyse the dried sample for genetic material from the three viruses using a technique called transcription mediated amplification.
The results from the study show that the test was able to detect the viruses at levels that are much lower than normal, even when the sample had been diluted. This method has the potential to benefit people in places where it would otherwise be difficult to take a venous blood sample, such as prisons, drug rehabilitation centres, and homeless shelters. It also has the potential to help developing countries to prevent the risk of ruined samples when being shipped and stored.
Stephen Nilsson-Moller, the lead researcher at the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, commented on the research, “We’ve shown that using existing hospital equipment, it is possible to detect HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood. The dried blood spot test is ideal for places where you don’t want to use a needle for safety reasons or where it is less practical.”
The Hologic panther system is a unique testing equipment developed by the leaders of clinical diagnostics, Hologic Inc. Hologic Inc. is a leading provider of diagnostic, medical imaging systems, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women. For almost four decades, Hologic has designed, developed, manufactured and marketed groundbreaking products in the fields of maternal-fetal health, breast, skeletal health, and diagnostic testing.
Lead researcher Stephen Nilsson-Moller and his team of professionals are experts in the field of clinical microbiology. They have vast experience and knowledge in the development and validation of diagnostic tests, helping to make diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C more visible. With Stephen’s team leading the validation of the single drop of blood test, we are quickly moving closer to the WHO’s global health strategies on eliminating these viruses by 2030.
