Abstract
Dried blood spots (DBS) have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional venous blood for hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing. However, their capacity to accurately reflect the genetic diversity of HCV remains poorly understood. We employed deep sequencing and advanced phylogenetic analyses on paired plasma and DBS samples from two common subtypes to evaluate the suitability of DBS for genomic surveillance. Results demonstrated that DBS captured equivalent viral diversity compared to plasma with no phylogenetic discordance observed. The ability of DBS to accurately reflect the profile of viral genetic diversity suggests it may be a promising avenue for future surveillance efforts to curb HCV outbreaks.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 266-270 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Viral Hepatitis |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant U24DA044801. Data are based upon data collected and/or methods developed as part of the Rural Opioid Initiative (ROI), a multi‐site study with a common protocol developed collaboratively by investigators at eight research institutions and at the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Primary data collection was supported by grants UG3DA044798, UG3DA044830, UG3DA044831, UG3DA044826 co‐funded by NIDA, ARC, CDC and SAMHSA.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Automotive Research and Testing Center | |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | |
| Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration | |
| Author National Institute on Drug Abuse DA031791 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Drug Abuse DA006634 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism AA026117 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism AA028162 Elizabeth G Pitts National Institute of General Medical Sciences GM102773 Elizabeth G Pitts Peter McManus Charitable Trust Mark J Ferris National Institute on Drug Abuse | UG3DA044830, UG3DA044798, UG3DA044831, UG3DA044826, U24DA044801 |
Keywords
- DBS
- HCV
- genetic diversity
- molecular epidemiology
- phylogenetic
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
