{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T17:59:35Z","timestamp":1790272775376,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]],"date-time":"2024-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title><jats:p>To assess the feasibility and acceptability of massive hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing in point of care on the street using quick tests, determine the characteristics of the population included, and the prevalence of HCV infection in this population.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Cross-sectional community-based study including adult men who have sex with men (MSM) who attended the three most important LGTB+ events in Sitges (Catalonia, Spain) in 2022. Points of care were set up on tents on the street and attendees were offered voluntary anti-HCV antibody self-testing. Participants were informed of the study, provided consent, completed the test for identification of risk practices (TIRP), and took the test with the OraQuick\u00ae HCV test on a saliva sample (sensitivity: 97.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 93.2\u201399.4%] and specificity: 100% [95% CI, 98.4\u2013100%]; gold standard: IgG antibody test for HCV by immunoassay [serum]); participants with positive results were offered HCV virus testing with the Xpert HCV Fingerstick\u00ae on a blood drop.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 1249 adults participated in the large-scale screening, of which 1197 (95.8%) were identified as MSM. The screening time was 39 participants\/h. Four (0.32%) participants had positive anti-HCV results, all with undetectable HCV RNA levels. Participants\u2019 median (IQR) age was 44 (35, 54) years; most were Europeans, and 13% reported being unaware of their serological HCV status. The mean (SD) TIRP score was 1.40 (1.44) (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f1062), with 67.41% reporting some risk, and the self-perceived sexually transmitted disease score was 3.0 (2.82) (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f969).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>The point-of-care strategy on the street using a quick oral self-test at massive MSM events is feasible, well-accepted, and quick, and may be a useful strategy to reach other populations at risk of HCV infection.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1478195","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]],"date-time":"2024-12-09T06:31:05Z","timestamp":1733725865000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["A large-scale screening of hepatitis C among men who have sex with men in the community using saliva point-of-care testing"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Sonia","family":"Albertos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesc X.","family":"Majo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rafael","family":"Esteban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joan","family":"Colom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Buti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","article-title":"Hepatitis C Key Facts","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref2","article-title":"Global Health sector strategy on viral hepatitis 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