Researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI) have developed a simple cost-effective urine test that detects and confirms hepatitis C virus infections.

Director of hepatology services at UC Irvine, Dr Ke-Qin Hu, HCV antigen test is simpler and has improved sensitivity and specificity over current tests.

The test which uses molecules that change colour when the virus is active, will detect the hepatitis C virus, not only in urine but also other body fluids.

Dr Hu said the new test is cheaper and will make hepatitis C testing more affordable. "Finding a more convenient, easy-to-use and cost-effective screening alternative is imperative, because HCV is significantly under-screened and under-diagnosed," he said.

"The ability to detect infection using urine rather than blood avoids needle stick and blood sample collection, greatly reduces the cost and necessary clinical infrastructure for screening and diagnosis, helping to promote widespread adoption of the test on a global scale," Dr Hu said.

The UCI team tried the test on urine from 110 people and blood from 138 people. The results from both groups produced the same diagnoses as those using current anti-body and PCR tests.

Dr Hu will present his findings at the coming annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD).

Image: Test tubes by Alvin Katek via flickr on Creative Commons Licence