ABSTRACT
Despite effective vaccines for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and curative antivirals for hepatitis C virus (HCV), these pathogens continue to be major global health problems. Both viruses can cause chronic lifelong infections that can lead to serious liver complications. To eliminate these viruses as public health threats, improvements to the entire patient care cascade, from access to diagnostic testing through monitoring treatment outcomes, are needed. This chapter highlights areas of recent advancement and potential future opportunities related to testing for HBV and HCV markers that could improve patient diagnosis and care. It discusses the potential use of point-of-care (POC) tests and simple-to-collect sample types to promote greater access to reliable diagnostic testing. It also describes how the impact of testing resources can be expanded by using multiplex tests that simultaneously evaluate multiple markers of infection. This chapter compares serological and genetic approaches for evaluating whether an HCV infection is recently acquired or long-term for the purpose of identifying outbreaks or monitoring incidence. Finally, this chapter discusses and compares potential biomarkers for monitoring HBV treatment and predicting positive outcomes.
