Sensitivity of HCV core antigen and HCV RNA detection in the early infection phase.

Background: Various countries have introduced HCV NAT to exclude infectious donations collected during the preseroconversion window phase (PWP). For the same purpose, an ELISA has also been developed to detect HCV core antigen (cAg).

Study Design And Methods: Using sequential samples from regular plasma donors with very recent HCV infections, a total of 494 samples from 52 anti-HCV-negative donors were collected.