OraQuick HCV Rapid Antibody Test

The first FDA-approved, CLIA-waived rapid hepatitis C (HCV) test. It is approved in Europe for detecting HCV antibodies in oral fluid, fingerstick and venipuncture whole blood. Simple platform enables healthcare providers to deliver an accurate diagnosis in 20 minutes. Its performance is clinically proven: OraQuick® HCV accuracy is greater than 98%.

HCV infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease. In some cases it leeds to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. More than 170 million individuals are estimated to be infected worldwide, and about 3 million new infections occur each year. The prevalence of infection varies from 0.5% to 2% in the Western world and 5% to 15% in some endemic areas in Africa.

HCV is blood born infection. After blood donor screening introduction in 1990s, the risk of contracting HCV from blood and blood derivatives become extremely low in resource rich countries. The predominant mode of HCV horizontal transmission is needle sharing among intravenous (IV) drug users. HCV can also be transmitted sexually but efficiency of transmission is lower compared to the sexually transmitted viruses. An increased risk of intrafamilial infectin has been documented even in those not exposed sexually but it still has to be established how household transmission takes place. FInally, mother to child transmission is the most common route of HCV infection in pediatric population.