Dried blood spot (DBS) is a reliable method of blood collection used for
the diagnosis of several human diseases. DBS is particularly useful for
diagnosing children and for the screening of high-risk populations
especially in countries where health facilities are not readily
accessible. This report describes a qualitative SYBR Green-based
real-time multiplex RT-PCR for the simultaneous detection of hepatitis C
virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genomes in
DBS. Specific viral amplicons were identified in the same sample by
their distinctive melting temperatures. The analysis of scalar
concentrations of the reference samples indicated that this multiplex
procedure detects at least 2500 copies/ml of HCV and 400 copies/ml of
HIV-1. HIV-1 and HCV viral loads in 20 patients infected with HIV-1
and/or HCV and in 5 healthy blood donors were also tested, confirming
the sensitivity and specificity of the assay.
This method may represent a reliable alternative for the detection of
HIV-1/HCV co-infection, in rapid and relatively inexpensive screening
programmes. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved