HCV Rapid Test Price in Mission Road

Test Description

The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Rapid Antibody Test is a point-of-care immunochromatographic assay that detects antibodies against HCV structural and non-structural antigens (core, NS3, NS4, NS5) in whole blood, serum, or plasma, providing a result within 20 minutes. HCV is a blood-borne RNA virus of the Hepacivirus genus (Flaviviridae family) with seven major genotypes (1–7); Genotype 1 and 3 are most prevalent globally. HCV infection is predominantly asymptomatic in the acute phase; approximately 75–85% of acutely infected individuals develop chronic HCV infection, defined as persistent viraemia for >6 months. Chronic HCV leads to progressive hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis (20–30% over 20 years), and hepatocellular carcinoma. The HCV rapid test is used for initial screening in high-risk populations: injecting drug users, patients receiving haemodialysis, recipients of blood products before 1992, healthcare workers with needle-stick exposure, and contacts of HCV-infected individuals. A reactive rapid test result does not distinguish between active (viraemic) and resolved (antibody-only) infection; all reactive results require confirmatory HCV RNA PCR testing to establish active viraemia. Genotyping is performed before initiating direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. With modern pan-genotypic DAAs (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, glecaprevir/pibrentasvir), HCV is now curable in >95% of patients.