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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Detection and Quantification of Hepatitis B Virus DNA
Published on: December 15, 2023
Estimation of delay in detecting hepatitis C virus antibodies in pools compared to individual testing on
1Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. sbatia@bgu.ac.il
Abstract:
Testing for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in pools may reduce blood screening costs, making this approach affordable for developing countries, provided that the dilution of infected blood does not significantly increase the number of undetectable viral particles, especially in seroconverters. This study assessed the delay in detection of HCV antibodies in five HCV seroconversion panels, tested in pools of 6-48 samples, and estimated the risk of transfusion-transmitted HCV caused by pooling. The delay in detection of positive samples was 5-12 days for pools of all sizes, adding 7% to the risk of HCV transmission that occurs when blood donors' samples are tested individually.
