High false discovery rate of the Architect anti-HCV screening test in blood donors in Uganda and evaluation of an algorithm for confirmatory testing.

Background And Objectives: Adequate supplies of donor blood remain a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. This is exacerbated by a lack of confirmatory testing for transfusion-transmitted infections by blood transfusion services (BTS), leading to significant blood disposal owing to putatively high seroprevalence rates amongst Ugandan blood donors. We aimed to ascertain the false discovery rate of the Architect anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening assay and categorize screen-reactive samples into three groups: presumed false positive, active and past infection, and develop an algorithm for confirmatory testing.

Efficacy of convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.

Rationale: Convalescent plasma (CCP) has been studied as a potential therapy for COVID-19, but data on its efficacy in Africa are limited.

Objective: In this trial we set out to determine the efficacy of CCP for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.

Measurements: Patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR test irrespective of disease severity were hospitalised and randomised to receive either COVID-19 CCP plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone.

Feasibility of collecting and processing of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.

Introduction: Evidence that supports the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) for treatment of COVID-19 is increasingly emerging. However, very few African countries have undertaken the collection and processing of CCP. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of collecting and processing of CCP, in preparation for a randomized clinical trial of CCP for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.