Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41959933›Full record

ArticleSouthern African journal of infectious diseases2026

Hepatitis C missed diagnostic opportunities: The role of reflex viral load testing in the era of direct acting antivirals, a descriptive South African study from 2017 to 2021.

Hloniphile Mthiyane, Bonolo Mashishi, Mamodiane A Patjane, Ntwanano Honwana, Nishi Prabdial-Sing, Lucia Hans, Nonhlanhla Mbenenge, Bhaveshan Reddy, Avania Bangalee, Florette K Treurnicht

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Article in Southern African journal of infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Hloniphile MthiyaneDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0547-0012
Bonolo MashishiDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-0113
Mamodiane A PatjaneDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4924-1419
Ntwanano HonwanaDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7807-3811
Nishi Prabdial-SingDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5300-0245
Lucia HansNational Priority Programme, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0330-4857
Nonhlanhla MbenengeDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8857-3844
Bhaveshan ReddyDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4506-4361
Avania BangaleeDepartment of Medical Virology, Lancet Laboratories, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3643-3038
Florette K TreurnichtDepartment of Medical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0853-8011

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing algorithm used in South African laboratories involves two tests; a serology test to detect anti-HCV antibodies and a confirmatory test to detect the presence of HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA). These tests usually require consecutive blood samples taken at more than one hospital visit, leaving patients with inconclusive diagnosis for weeks. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the prevalence and proportion of HCV seropositive cases where diagnostic opportunities were missed among patients who attended public healthcare facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Method: This descriptive study was conducted as a retrospective analysis of laboratory data from the Department of Medical Virology, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa. Patients for whom HCV diagnosis were requested from 2017 to 2021 were included in the study. Results: Over the five-year period, a total of 212 670 patients were tested for HCV antibodies and 8575 (4.04%) tested positive. The HCV seropositivity was recorded for 74.8% (6421/8575) of males compared to females (23.6%; 2030/8575; Conclusion: Despite an overall HCV seroprevalence of 4% in this study, only one quarter received a definitive diagnosis. This highlights that most patients are lost to follow-up because of the two-step diagnostic process, which requires them to return to the health facility for confirmatory tests. Contribution: The study highlights the need to adopt HCV reflex testing as the standard in South Africa to meet the 2030 elimination targets.

Indexed as

HCVmissed diagnosesserologytesting, public sectorviral load

Identifiers

PMID41959933
PMCPMC13058554

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