Validation of dried blood spots for capturing hepatitis C virus diversity for genomic surveillance

Abstract

Dried blood spots (DBS) have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional venous blood for hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing. However, their capacity to accurately reflect the genetic diversity of HCV remains poorly understood. We employed deep sequencing and advanced phylogenetic analyses on paired plasma and DBS samples from two common subtypes to evaluate the suitability of DBS for genomic surveillance. Results demonstrated that DBS captured equivalent viral diversity compared to plasma with no phylogenetic discordance observed. The ability of DBS to accurately reflect the profile of viral genetic diversity suggests it may be a promising avenue for future surveillance efforts to curb HCV outbreaks.

Keywords: DBS; HCV; genetic diversity; molecular epidemiology; phylogenetic.