Hepatitis C cure: one-step test developed by UC Irvine Health researchers

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Hepatitis C affected an estimate of 29,718 individuals in the United States alone in 2013. CDC estimates that 2.7 million Americans have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and most are undiagnosed or not aware of their condition because they do not feel or look sick.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a cost-effective one-step test that can screen, detect, and confirm hepatitits C virus infections, Eurekalert reports. The researchers' findings have been presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in San Francisco.

"Our novel HCV antigen test system has significantly improved sensitivity and specificity over current tests," explained lead researcher Dr. Ke-Qin Hu, a professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at UC Irvine School of Medicine. "Finding a more convenient, easy-to-use and cost-effective screening alternative is imperative, because HCV is significantly under-screened and under-diagnosed."

The HCV screening test that is currently in use requires two steps and a blood sample, and does not distinguish an active infection from a previous one. Science Daily reports that according to Dr. Hu, many developing countries are not equipped to administer the two-step test, and in the U.S., it costs above $200.

Speaking of costs, Yahoo! reports that Medicare expenditures on breakthrough hepatitits C medications will significantly increase this year, amounting to over $9 billion. This 96% increase finds Medicare beneficiaries facing costly premiums and deductibles. But unlike other private insurers, Medicare follows the advice of doctors' groups and do not impose that patients must show signs of advanced liver disease before trying new drugs.

According to Sean Cavanaugh, deputy director for Medicare with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "If you think about it, these are really drugs that can prevent liver disease. We felt it was most appropriate to allow patients to have them earlier."

Findings show that Dr. Hu and his team's HCV antigen test system may reduce the cost, human resources, and time to get the test results.

"The ability to detect infection using urine rather than blood avoids needle stick and blood sample collection, greatly reduces the cost and necessary clinical infrastructure for screening and diagnosis, helping to promote widespread adoption of the test on a global scale," Dr. Hu explained.

Medical Daily reports that those who have the HCV infection usually don't know about it until a more serious liver problem occurs, such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, or liver cancer. Dr. Hu said, "Those who are HCV infected can now be cured, before a further liver injury and complications develop, but only if they are diagnosed."