Resumen

COLQUILLO AYSALLANQUE, Bladimir; SANCHEZ MONTANO, Rolando  y  TERCEROS ALMANZA, Patricia. New strategies in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C. Evaluation of RT-PCR and EIA laboratory techniques. BIOFARBO [online]. 2009, vol.17, n.2, pp. 15-22. ISSN 1813-5363.

Hepatitis C caused by Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is one of the main emerging health problems. The diagnostic methods currently in use still have certain limitations, such as the poor sensitivity of serological methods; and, despite the high specificity of molecular assays, these methods are not applied due to their high cost. This aim of this study is to establish molecular diagnosis of HCV using RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription of the viral RNA by Polymerase Chain Reaction) through monitorisation using ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) also referred as EIA. Fifty six reactive anti-HCV samples referred during the years 2006 and 2007 in Bolivia were evaluated using RT-PCR as well as third and fourth generation EIAs (EIA 3.0 and EIA 4.0) and the study found 32.14% positive cases by amplification and a greater reactivity to EIA 4.0 (73.21%) in comparison to EIA 3.0 (28,3%). Nevertheless, consistency for both EIAs is insignificant [K= 0.07; IC 95% (0.0031, 0.1387)]. Finally, when the positive samples of  RT-PCR were compared with EIAs a greater consistency was observed with EIA 4.0  (66.7%), in contrast with EIA 3.0 (37.5%). It is clearly evident that there is a need to implement EIA 4.0 assays for screening purposes in routine laboratory tests, as well as in blood banks. Also, the implementation and evaluation through RT-PCR in this population requires laboratory tests with different detection targets, to allow an appropriate diagnosis and treatment of the infection.

Palabras llave : Hepatitis C virus; Hepatitis C; diagnosis; RT-PCR; EIA; Anti-VHC; third-generation; fourth-generation; screening; extraction.