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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1478195

A Large-Scale Screening of Hepatitis C Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Community Using Saliva Point-of-Care Testing

Provisionally accepted
SONIA ALBERTOS SONIA ALBERTOS 1,2*Francesc Xavier Majo Roca Francesc Xavier Majo Roca 2Rafael Esteban Rafael Esteban 3Joan Colom Farran Joan Colom Farran 2Maria Buti Maria Buti 3
  • 1 Consorci Sanitari de l´Alt Penedès-Garraf, Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain
  • 2 Catalunya Healthcare System. Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Balearic Islands, Spain
  • 3 Division of Hepatology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Aim: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of massive hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing in point of care on the street using quick tests, determine the characteristics of the population included, and the prevalence of HCV infection in this population. Methods: Cross-sectional community-based study including adult men who have sex with men (MSM) who attended the three most important LGTB+ events in Sitges (Catalonia, Spain) in 2022. Points of care were set up on tents on the street and attendees were offered voluntary anti-HCV antibody self-testing. Participants were informed of the study, provided consent, completed the test for identification of risk practices (TIRP), and took the test with the OraQuick® HCV test on a saliva sample (sensitivity: 97.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 93.2-99.4%] and specificity: 100% [95% CI, 98.4-100%]; gold standard: IgG antibody test for HCV by immunoassay [serum]); participants with positive results were offered HCV virus testing with the Xpert HCV Fingerstick® on a blood drop. Results: A total of 1249 adults participated in the large-scale screening, of which 1197 (95.8%) were identified as MSM. The screening time was 39 participants/hour. Four (0.32%) participants had positive anti-HCV results, all with undetectable HCV RNA levels. Participants’ median (IQR) age was 44 (35, 54) years; most were Europeans, and 13% reported being unaware of their serological HCV status. The mean (SD) TIRP score was 1.40 (1.44) (n=1062), with 67.41% reporting some risk, and the self-perceived sexually transmitted disease score was 3.0 (2.82) (n=969). Conclusion: The point-of-care strategy on the street using a quick oral self-test at massive MSM events is feasible, well-accepted, and quick, and may be a useful strategy to reach other populations at risk of HCV infection.

    Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, screening, Hepatitis C seroprevalence, Men who have sex with men, quick saliva test

    Received: 09 Aug 2024; Accepted: 28 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 ALBERTOS, Majo Roca, Esteban, Farran and Buti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: SONIA ALBERTOS, Consorci Sanitari de l´Alt Penedès-Garraf, Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain

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