{"id":702,"date":"2026-08-24T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/ridu\/?page_id=702"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:12:32","slug":"dried-blood-spot-testing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/ridu\/dried-blood-spot-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Dried Blood Spot Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why do we test for BBV’s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B are important pathogens in the UK causing significant personal and public health problems. Successful treatment exists for all these infections. There is evidence that all three infections are under diagnosed (estimated one-third of people with HIV and 1\/2 of people with HCV are unaware of their infection) and that this is increasing both illness and death rates in these patients. Late diagnosis can result in a poorer outcome for people with any of the BBVs.
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The three major blood-borne viruses, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV), are members of different virus families but have one thing in common. Their major mode of transmission is via blood or bodily fluids. In practice the most common ways of passing on these viruses are through sharing injecting equipment and unprotected sexual intercourse.
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Dried Blood Spot (DBS) testing<\/strong> is a simple, minimally invasive way to screen for infections like Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and HIV using just a finger-prick sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\ude78 How it works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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