Efect of Temperature on Efectiveness of HBs Ag and anti-HIV Rapid Diagnostic Tests

Abstract

       Diagnosis of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Human Immunodeiciency Virus (HIV) infections using rapid test kits is common in clinical laboratories as sensitivity and speciicity of each test kit are comparable to those operated by automatic machines. Moreover, the rapid test kits can be stored at 30 degrees Celsius (°C). Owing to global warming, an average temperature of any regions in the world is increasing every year. Our study was, therefore, to investigate temperature efect of efectiveness of rapid test kits for detection of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HIV antibody. Each of 5 products of HBsAg and anti-HIV antibody test kits were weekly tested for its stability after being stored at 1, 23, 30, and 40°C for 24 weeks using HBsAg-positive and anti-HIV positive plasma, respectively. It was found that color appearance of all products was not dramatically changed. Our indings suggested that products of HBsAg and anti-HIV antibody test kits used in this study are stable up to 40°C for 24 weeks and indicated that performance evaluation of rapid test kits is essential prior to testing in uncontrolled environments.