SAMBA II HIV-1 Semi-Q Whole Blood Test

A game changer in point of care (POC) HIV-1 viral load monitoring.

For those on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), WHO recommends viral load testing at 6 to 12 months following initiation of treatment, and annually thereafter. Unfortunately, these recommendations are rarely met for those in rural, resource-limited settings, where even if tested, patients can wait months to receive their results.

This is why we developed the SAMBA II HIV-1 Semi-Q Whole Blood assay, a game changer in point of care (POC) HIV-1 viral load monitoring. Other than common viral-load monitoring tests which use plasma samples requiring blood collection by a trained phlebotomist plus centrifugation to remove white blood cells, the presence of which can bias assays with integrated pro-viral DNA.

The SAMBA II HIV-1 Semi-Q Whole Blood assay utilises whole blood and automatically filters it through our patented leukodepletion column to remove >99.9% of white blood cells, eliminating the need for plasma samples. Our technology uses a small volume of whole blood, which can be obtained from a finger or heel prick, to accurately determine if the patient has a viral load of greater than 1000 copies/mL.

Each test kit contains all reagents, consumables and everything you need to collect finger or heel prick samples, including adjustable lancet, alcohol wipes, powder-free gloves, sample collection tube and sample tracking card – with no hidden costs.

Why SAMBA II HIV-1 Semi-Q Whole Blood Test?
  • No need for phlebotomists or expensive centrifugation
  • Storage and operating conditions built for the real world
  • Binary output simplifies clinical decision making
Technical Information
Concordance 97.6% (venous blood) and 95.9% (capillary blood) with gold standard tests
Specificity 100% specificity and no cross reactivity with other common viruses
Storage conditions 2-37°C for real-time storage and 55°C for transport stability
Sample type Finger or heel prick blood collected with provided sample collection kit; or citrate or EDTA venous blood
Publications

Titchmarsh L, Zeh C, Verpoort T, Allain JP, Lee H. Leukodepletion as a point-of-care method for monitoring HIV-1 viral load in whole blood. J Clin Microbiol. 2015;53(4):1080–1086. doi:10.1128/JCM.02853-14

 

For further information on this or any of our other tests please contact us.