Sensitivity and specificity of rapid hepatitis C antibody assays in freshly collected whole blood, plasma and serum samples: A multicentre prospective study.

Sensitivity was highest in serum and plasma versus whole blood. The World Health Organization prequalification criterion (≥98%) was narrowly missed by both RDTs in serum, and one in plasma, possibly due to the intended user factor. Performance in whole blood was considered adequate, given potential roles of HCV infection history, improved sensitivity with detectable viral load and performance similarities to the reference RDT.