Anti-HBV Surface Antigen Monoclonal antibody, Clone IB12

The present study aims to investigate an up-to-date prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection among a mix population of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study highlighted the relationship between HBV, demographic, clinical parameters and the risk factors in patients with HBV. A total of 4,758 blood samples from the mixed population were collected including 2382 male 2376 females. All the samples were subjected to hepatitis B surface antigen Immuno-chromatographic test (ICT), HBsAg enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for the existence of antibodies against HBV. It was observed that 307 (12.8%) out of the 2382 individuals harbored antibodies in their blood against HBV. Among the different age groups, the highest number of incidences of HBV antibodies was found in the 16-25 age groups (7.01%). ICT positive samples were further screened by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the existence of active HBV-DNA. It was investigated that 5.7% (2382) of the total population (4758) tested was positive, among which the female 15.4% (367) possessed antibodies in their blood against HBV. Our results showed a higher male percentage than that of the female. The total HBV prevalence was recorded at 4.5% in all populations comprising both male and female. It was concluded that the highest prevalence of HBV was found in male and female in the age group 16-25, and then followed by the age group that lies between 26-55.

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are widely used in Lubumbashi for the diagnosis of viral hepatitis B and C. To date, there are no works that have been carried out in Lubumbashi to independently assess the performance of such tests. This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of RDTs for the detection of HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies in order to identify infected blood donors in Lubumbashi. A total of 300 serum samples (100 HBsAg positive samples; 100 anti-HCV positive samples and 100 HBsAg and anti-HCV negative samples) were tested simultaneously using the 6 locally used RDTs and as gold standard the chemiluminescent assays for HBsAg and the RT-TMA for HCV detection. The six evaluated RDTs demonstrated a sensitivity and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100 % whereas the specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) varied from 46 % to 98.1 %. SB BioLine HBsAg test performed best in this study with 100 % of sensitivity, 97.1 % of specificity, 100 % of NPV and 96.9 % of PPV. Furthermore, sensitivity, specificity, NPV and PPV for SB BioLine HCV test were as follows: 100 %, 98.1 %, 100 % and 93.9 %. Therefore, SD BioLine tests (HBsAg, HCV) would be selected as the first line RDTs for the detection and the diagnostic of hepatitis B and C. They can prevent blood-borne transmission of HBV and HCV in areas with limited incomes as Lubumbashi.