It is estimated that over 216,000 individuals in the UK are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Poor diagnosis rates, low treatment rates and a high annual incidence of new infection mean that chronic HCV remains a major public health challenge.
The increasing adoption of the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for HCV, in combination with standard HCV therapy, is driving a need for extremely accurate viral load monitoring. Indeed, due to the potency of the new therapies, a highly sensitive real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay is now recommended for the effective monitoring of RNA levels during treatment with DAAs.
Roche has now launched an ultra-sensitive HCV RNA test, the cobas AmpliPrep/cobas TaqMan HCV quantitative test v2.0, for the sensitive detection and accurate quantitation of HCV RNA genotypes 1–6. Available throughout the UK and Ireland, it provides clinically relevant results and thus enables optimal clinical decision-making.
www.roche.co.uk