New non-invasive Hepatitis test in time for World Hepatitis Day

May 19th 2010 is World Hepatitis Day - so the launch of a non-invasive test that will revolutionise the detection and treatment of Hepatitis C is perfectly timed. Nearly 70% of people infected with Hepatitis C in the UK don't know they've got it; the new test is portable and easy to use - a gum swab is all it takes - and it gives results in just 20 minutes. It enables health workers to reach all sectors of their community to make earlier diagnoses and implement quicker, more effective treatment. With clinical accuracy rates of over 99%, it is the first truly viable alternative to standard testing and laboratory assessment.

Globally, there are 500 million people affected by chronic viral Hepatitis B and C - that's 1 in 12 of the world's population - and fifteen times the number diagnosed with HIV / AIDS. Even though there are circa one million Hepatitis B and C related fatalities every year, awareness of the condition remains poor. Hence the need for World Hepatitis Day - and the need for a quicker, simpler, stress-free way to test for Hepatitis C.

The new test named OraQuick confronts the problems traditionally associated with HCV - the biggest of these is ignorance. Hepatitis symptoms may take decades to manifest themselves; during that time, infected individuals can unwittingly infect other people and continue propagating the disease. Now, health workers can take the test out to any setting where they can test as and when required.

Sue Younghusband from the distributor Axis-Shield UK says "OraQuick makes things easy for health care workers. They can continue to make an analysis by fingerstick or venous blood samples, plasma or serum. But OraQuick enables non-invasive testing too. A simple gum swab is sufficient. That gets round the problem of trying to take blood from a collapsed vein in the case of testing intravenous drug users (a section of the population that is at high risk of Hepatitis infection)."