Hep C Self-Testing
Is simple, reliable testing at home a step towards elimination?
I
magine being able to test yourself for hepatitis C in the privacy of your home, just like a pregnancy test. Would you be more ready to take the test? New diagnostic tools are being developed and piloted for hepatitis C self-testing in selected countries around the world. Findings were recently presented at a webinar by Sonjelle Shilton, Deputy Head of HCV, Access at the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).
Based on this, hepatitis C selftesting (HCVST) is seen as a potentially important way to expand access to hepatitis C testing. The FIND-WHO pilot of HCV self-testing tools was carried out in 10 countries covering a total of 22 sites. The tests included one using oral fluid and another using small blood samples. Five sites trialed both methods, 13 did only oral fluids and four sites used only the blood-based method (see map, below).
WHO hepatitis testing guidelines describes selftesting as “a process in which an individual who wants to know his or her status collects a specimen, performs the test and interprets the result themselves, often in private.” It goes on to say that HIV selftesting which is now conducted in many settings is highly acceptable in a variety of groups and its availability has increased
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HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS 90 • June 2021
This pilot is a feasibility study looking at usability and acceptance of these selftesting tools among people who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Some countries, like Georgia and Malaysia, integrated the hepatitis C self-testing tests into existing HIV self-testing platforms. In Pakistan, the pilot hepatitis C self-tests were integrated into an existing doorto-door campaign for a micro-elimination program targeting the general population in a district in Karachi.
Graphics courtesy of Sonjelle Shilton FIND and Polaris Observatory
The meeting was organised by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO).
uptake of testing among people not reached by other HIV testing services, many of whom are first-time testers.
