PCR-Based Molecular Diagnosis of Hepatitis Virus (HBV and HDV) in HCV Infected Patients and Their Biochemical Study

Seroprevalence of HCV indicates that HCV is found in more than 10% of HBV-or HDV-infected patients worldwide leading to liver disease. Here we show HBV and HDV coinfection association with HCV infected Pakistani patients, study of disease severity, and possible interpretation of associated risk factors in coinfected patients. A total of 730 liver diseased patients were included, out of which 501 were found positive for HCV infection via PCR. 5.1% of patients were coinfected with HBV while 1% were coinfected with HBV and HDV both. LFTs were significantly altered in dually and triply infected patients as compared to single HCV infection. Mean bilirubin, AST, and ALT levels were highest (3.25 mg/dL, 174 IU/L, and 348 IU/L) in patients with triple infection while dual infection LFTs (1.6 mg/dL, 61 IU/L, and 74 IU/L) were not high as in single infection (1.9 mg/dL, 76 IU/L, and 91 IU/L). The most prominent risk factor in case of single (22%) and dual infection (27%) group was "reuse of syringes" while in triple infection it was "intravenous drug users" (60%). It is concluded that HBV and HDV coinfections are strongly associated with HCV infected Pakistani patients and in case of severe liver disease the possibility of double and triple coinfection should be kept in consideration

Clinical Performance of Cobas 6800 for the Detection of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Urine Samples

Testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) as part of primary cervical cancer screening has become more common recently. The Cobas 6800, an FDA-approved cervical screening platform, detects 14 high-risk HPVs, including HPV16 and HPV18. However, this test is limited to only women, which leads to low screening rates in trans men and other non-binary people. The cervical screening of trans men and other genders, especially those lying on the female-to-male spectrum, is equally important. Furthermore, cisgender males, particularly homosexuals, are also prone to chronic HPV infections and serve as HPV carriers, transmitting it to women and other men through sexual contact. Another limitation of the test is its invasive specimen collection, which induces discomfort and genital dysphoria. Therefore, there is a need for an innovative, less invasive method that would allow the sampling process to be more comfortable. In this study, we assess the performance of the Cobas 6800 for high-risk HPV detection in urine samples spiked with HPV16, HPV18, and HPV68. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated using a dilution series (1.25–10,000 copies/mL) over a course of three days. Furthermore, the clinical validation was performed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The limit of detection ranged from 50–1000 copies/mL depending upon the genotype. Moreover, the urine test demonstrated a high clinical sensitivity of 93%, 94%, and 90% for HPV16, HPV18, and HPV68, with 100% specificity. The overall percent agreement was calculated to be 95% for both HPV16 and HPV18, and 93% for HPV68. The high concordance, reproducibility, and clinical performance of the current assay suggest that the urine-based HPV test fulfills the requirements for its use in primary cervical screening. Moreover, it has the potential to be used for mass screening to not only identify high-risk individuals, but also to monitor vaccine effectiveness