A study from Danish researchers presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) showed a new test that can detect HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood. In the conference held in Copenhagen, the researchers from the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark revealed that they have developed a dried blood spot test, in which a single spot of blood is tested for nucleic acid from the three viruses.

In the Hologic Panther System, a testing equipment widely found in public health laboratories, transcription-mediated amplification is used to analyze the blood spots for genetic material from the three viruses. The analysis is not performed using dried materials; instead, it is carried out on liquid plasma or serum samples.

The lead author of the study stated that at present, the blood samples need to be analyzed within six hours when kept at room temperature. However, when dried, the sample can last for nine months without refrigeration. For the new technique, the finger of the participating individual was pricked and a few spots of blood were collected on filter paper. It was allowed to dry and then used for testing.

In the study, 20 samples with known amounts of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C were analyzed via the dried blood spot method (60 in total), and the viruses were detected in all of the samples.

Additionally, the plasma was also diluted to determine the lower limit of detection. The findings of the analysis showed that the test was able to detect the viruses at levels that were much lower than those normally found in untreated patients. 

(Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/new-test-may-detect-hiv-hepatitis-b-and-c-from-a-single-drop-of-blood/articleshow/99456583.cms )