Hepatitis C point-of-care diagnostics: in search of a single visit diagnosis

The availability of simple, tolerable, therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with responses >95% is one of the greatest medical advances in decades, offering an opportunity to reverse the rising burden due to HCV and strive towards HCV elimination. A key challenge moving forward will be to ensure that those who are undiagnosed are made aware of their infection, receive HCV therapy and achieve viral cure. The availability of point-of-care tests for HCV infection has the potential to simplify testing algorithms, increase diagnoses, and facilitate linkage to treatment. Areas covered: This commentary explores why point-of-care tests for HCV are needed, what markers of HCV can be measured, methods for sample collection, where HCV testing can occur, and the remaining challenges for HCV point-of-care testing. Expert commentary: Currently, we have reached an era where there are now several commercial assays to detect HCV RNA (active HCV infection) in 60-90 min, and have reached a single visit HCV diagnosis. In the future, it is hoped that further technological advances will enable access to low-cost, rapid, and accurate assays for HCV RNA detection, improving the number of people diagnosed with HCV infection and contributing to global elimination efforts.