Role of Point of Care Testing in Elimination of Hepatitis C

With the availability of effective treatments for HCV infection, there is great interest in the global elimination of hepatitis C by 2030. Screening of hepatitis C and finding the patients has been identified as one of the barriers for the elimination of HCV infection. In Iran, around 30% of patients with HCV infection have been diagnosed. The most affected population with HCV infection in Iran is the people who inject the drug (PWID) which makes the screening troublesome especially implementing the routine blood sampling and testing the samples in the laboratory. In this context, the point of care testing (POCT) such as rapid diagnostic tests has been included to increase the testing acceptability by the target population and also to make the process of testing to obtaining result feasible, fast, reliable and cost-effective. While POCT is the solution for increasing the diagnosis, it has been faced with many issues such as test selection and performance which is determined by the target population in terms of prevalence of HCV infection, setting of testing and affordability. Finally, the pipeline for development, introduction, and implementation of POCT is ongoing with many new technologies and tests should be introduced in the next few years make the diagnosis most feasible in the HCV elimination programs.