TITLE:
Use of Dried Blood Spot to Improve the Diagnosis and Management of HIV in Resource-Limited Settings
AUTHORS:
Chatté Adawaye, Erick Kamangu, Ali Mahamat Moussa, Bertin Tchoumbou, Dolores Vaira, Michel Moutschen
KEYWORDS:
DBS; HIV; Resources Limited Setting; Viral Load; Genotyping
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of AIDS,
Vol.3 No.3,
September
5,
2013
ABSTRACT: Over 75% of
people infected with HIV live in countries where health resources are very
limited for the diagnosis and biological monitoring of people infected by the
virus. In resource-limited settings, the use of DBS is a valuable alternative.
It has provided technical and economical alternative to the collection of blood
in the tubes for testing HIV infection. The DBS can be kept for over a year, it is economical in storage
space and facilitates storage conditions because it can be stored at room
temperature. It is more discreet and easier to carry over liquid samples that
require tubes and other appropriate materials. The amount is sufficient for
certain analyses
of DNA generally, but may be insufficient for the analysis of viral RNA if the
viral load is low. Its disadvantage is often associated with small amounts of
blood collected available for testing, and the difficulties encountered in
laboratories to extract the maximum possibilities without material contamination. DBS
can be stored at room temperature (25℃ - 35℃), at 4℃, -20℃ or even -70℃. With PCR, the
DBS is a suitable medium
for the diagnosis of patients infected with HIV, virological monitoring by the VL and
even analyzing viral genotype. It is a handy stand for the collection, transport and analyses of biological monitoring of HIV
infection. It is indeed very suitable for environments with limited accessibility
where it is difficult for specialized laboratories to monitor these patients.
The DBS is suitable for resource-limited settings.