Abstract:
D
rug resistance is a major challenge to sustained treatment
success, particularly in resource-limited settings (RLS) with
few antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens and limited access to
virologic monitoring and drug resistance testing (DRT) (
1
,
2
).
Availability of these tests is restricted mostly due to cost and ex-
pertise.
HemaSpot is a novel dried-blood storage device that combines
an absorbent paper to hold samples and a desiccant to maintain
dryness, within a plastic cartridge (Spot On Sciences, Austin, TX).
To date, HemaSpots had only been applied to
Leishmania
diagno-
sis via antibody detection in dogs, showing high sensitivity and
specificity (
3
). We examine the potential of HemaSpot use for
HIV-1 DR
