What is required from HCV point-of-care tests to reduce the burden of hepatitis C infection? ‘Development and clinical validation of the genedrive point-of-care test for qualitative detection of hepatitis C virus’

[...]inexpensive and simple alternatives to conventional HCV nucleic acid tests (NAT) are urgently needed not only for low-income and middle-income countries but also high-income countries where healthcare resources are not infinite and HCV mainly affects difficult to reach populations. [...]its assessment in Llibre et al study, while partially using blood from a remote setting, was not performed in a remote field. [...]the study failed to provide valid data that actually can perform according to the requirements published by the Foundation for Innovation in New Diagnostics (FIND) for decentralised testing in low-income and middle-income countries. A real-life study validating the performance of Genedrive POC test is needed. [...]the performance of the Genedrive POC test has been assessed in central laboratories, likely by trained technicians. [...]the Genedrive POC test might not be adaptable to resource-limited settings as well as some populations such as injecting drug users with poor venous access.