What To Do If The Hcv Antibody Test Is Reactive
If the antibody test is reactive or positive, you need an additional test to see if you currently have hepatitis C. This test is called a nucleic acid test for HCV RNA. Another name used for this test is a PCR test.
If the NAT for HCV RNA is:
- Negative you were infected with hepatitis C virus, but the virus is no longer in your body because you were cured or cleared the virus naturally.
- Positive you now have the virus in your blood.
If you have a reactive antibody test and a positive NAT for HCV RNA, you will need to talk to a doctor about treatment. Treatments are available that can cure most people with hepatitis C in 8 to 12 weeks.
What Do The Results Mean
There are two results from a hepatitis C antibody test.
- A non-reactive or negative test result means that the person does not have the virus. The exception is if someone has come into contact with the virus recently, such as through contaminated blood. If this is the case, they will need to have another test.
- A reactive or positive test result means that the person has had the virus at some point but does not mean that they still have it. Further tests will be needed to check whether the virus is still active in the body and if treatment will be required.
Once diagnosed with hepatitis C, a person will need to undergo a series of different tests to see how the virus has affected their body.
These tests will check for any liver damage, identify how well the liver is working, and help a healthcare professional to decide on treatment.
Hepatitis C is treated with medication known as an antiviral. It gets this name because it aims to clear the virus out of the body.
Another aim of the medication is to slow down damage to the liver. It may also reduce the chance of a person getting liver cancer or developing serious liver scarring, known as cirrhosis.
A person with hepatitis C will require regular testing during treatment to see how well the medication is working. Keeping healthy, getting enough sleep, and avoiding drugs and alcohol can help treatment to work.
What Does A Hepatitis C Ab Reactive Mean
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What The Quantitative Results Mean
The quantitative test results indicate the exact amount of HCV in your blood. This number helps your doctor confirm whether you have a high or low viral load.
Measuring your viral load before treatment allows your doctor to monitor your viral load during and after treatment.
The viral load measurement doesnt indicate how severe your HCV infection or cirrhosis is. Your doctor will need to take a biopsy, or tissue sample, from your liver to learn more about how your liver has been affected by an HCV infection.
The viral load results from the quantitative PCR test can range from 15 to 100,000,000 IU/L.
If your results are:
- Fewer than 15 IU/mL: The virus is detected, but the amount cant be measured exactly. You may need to return later for another test to see if the measurement changes.
- Fewer than 800,000 IU/mL: A low viral load is detected.
- More than 800,000 IU/mL: A high viral load is detected.
- More than 100,000,000 IU/mL: The virus is detected and active infection is taking place.
- Inconclusive: HCV RNA cant be measured, and a new sample needs to be taken.
Should I Be Screened For Hepatitis C
Doctors usually recommend one-time screening of all adults ages 18 to 79 for hepatitis C. Screening is testing for a disease in people who have no symptoms. Doctors use blood tests to screen for hepatitis C. Many people who have hepatitis C dont have symptoms and dont know they have hepatitis C. Screening tests can help doctors diagnose and treat hepatitis C before it causes serious health problems.
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Preparation Prior To Transport
Label the specimen container with the patients full name, date of collection and one other unique identifier such as the patients date of birth or Health Card Number. Failure to provide this information may result in rejection or testing delay.Centrifuge SST. Place specimen in biohazard bag and seal. Specimens should be stored at 2-8°C following collection and ship to PHOs laboratory on ice packs within 3 days of collection. Specimens received more than 7 days post collection will not be tested. If delayed shipping is anticipated, remove serum from clot and store frozen at -20°C or colder and ship on dry ice.
Hepatitis C Is Curable
Link to care: interferon-free direct acting antiviral treatments have a sustained virologic response > 90%.
- treatment regimens range from 8 to 24 weeks and have few side effects
- consult a health professional experienced in the management of viral hepatitis
For more information, please visit Canada.ca and search ‘hepatitis C for health professionals’.
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Hep C Antibodies Do Not Prevent Re
What does it mean, in any real terms? Well, in terms of my status as being cured, it means nothing at all, because we do believe, as a fact, that antibodies for hep C offer no protection and so have no real value. It is interesting to me, and that is only because of my interest in the science of why and how things work, and there is some science that points to diminished antibody presence over time, and is it the same with all treatments? We dont know, and no need to be concerned, unless you too have a mildly science and nerdy side like me.
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Are Test Results Accurate
Although no test is perfect, hepatitis C testing is an important and accepted method of testing for HCV. In order to reduce the risk of inaccurate results, doctors take steps to verify a patients diagnosis. For example, a positive test result for hepatitis C antibody requires confirmation with HCV RNA testing.
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Time For Processing Hcv Ab Test Results
The turnaround time for 3rd-generation EIAs is at least 1 day. Many labs do not perform the tests on site and must send specimens to another lab for processing, which may further increase the turnaround time.
A point-of-care test is also available. The OraQuick® HCV Rapid Antibody Test is an FDA-approved test that can be performed with a fingerstick . It is also a CLIA-waived test and therefore can be used in clinic offices and outreach facilities. Results are reported as reactive or nonreactive within 20 minutes. Just as for the standard HCV Ab test done in the lab, a positive OraQuick® test must be confirmed by an HCV RNA test. The sensitivity and specificity of the test is similar to that of the laboratory-based assays.
Addressing Hepatitis For The First Time
It is crucial that a treatment counselor or health professional use a nonjudgmental and compassionate tone. Clients need to feel comfortable disclosing information about their health and risky behaviors. The following strategies can help initiate the conversation:
- Display posters, literature, or other -related items that could help prompt the client to ask questions about hepatitis. .
- Assess clients ability to discuss , based on their degree of openness in the counseling session, the amount of detail they provide in their responses, and the length of the therapeutic relationship.
- Raise the subject in a way that avoids making clients feel defensive or afraid. Consider introducing the subject by making parallels with other conditions that have been discussed. Say, for example, You said you were tested for HIV several times. Were you ever tested for viral ? or You mentioned that your friend is sick with HIV. Have you been tested for HCV or HIV? Tell me about those tests.
- Be patient and allow time for multiple, short conversations about the subject. This might ease feelings of fear, anxiety, or shame.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Hepatitis C
Most people infected with hepatitis C have no symptoms. Some people with an acute hepatitis C infection may have symptoms within 1 to 3 months after they are exposed to the virus. These symptoms may include
- yellowish eyes and skin, called jaundice
If you have chronic hepatitis C, you most likely will have no symptoms until complications develop, which could be decades after you were infected. For this reason, hepatitis C screening is important, even if you have no symptoms.
What Is Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that is spread when blood from an infected individual enters the body of someone who is not infected. The HCV infection can cause both chronic and acute hepatitis in an individual.
Acute hepatitis describes individuals who have only had the hepatitis C virus infection for 6 months or less, which is considered an acute hepatitis C infection. In chronic hepatitis cases, the infection is long-term. A chronic infection is a significant risk factor for liver disease and liver cancer, and is potentially life-threatening if left untreated.
If you think you may be at risk of viral hepatitis, taking our hep C test kit can help you check if you have this infection. Our HCV test is quick and easy to take , and you can conveniently view your HCV screening results on our secure, online platform.
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What Is Hepatitis B Surface Antibody
When you are exposed to hepatitis B, your body mounts an immune reaction against it as an invader. This happens whether you are exposed due to blood or sexual contact or if you are vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine.
The hepatitis B virus has proteins on its surface that cause your immune system to produce antibodies. With the vaccine, the sample contains the protein only and not the virus itself.
The first response your body will make when exposed to hepatitis B is to manufacture hepatitis B IgM antibodies. These early antibodies are produced to fight against several parts of the virus including its core. These antibodies are seen in the initial response, but they eventually fade away.
Your immune system then begins to produce IgG antibodies. It continues to produce these antibodies for the rest of your life. In this way, your immune system is always ready to attack hepatitis B virus when it is exposed to it.
This Hepatitis C Screening Test Checks Whether You Have Antibodies Against Hepatitis C
In the event that your test results are abnormal, an associate from our physician network will contact you directly to discuss your particular case as well as provide information on how to take the next steps to get confirmatory testing. We take customer privacy very seriously and will never share your information with a third-party with the exception of the lab we use to test your sample and our physician network.
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Other Hepatitis C Tests
After an individual has received a reactive or positive result from a hepatitis C antibody test, they will need to have two follow-up tests.
The first test checks to see whether a person still has the virus the other measures the amount of the virus in the blood.
The first test is the hep C RNA qualitative test, also known as the PCR test. A positive result means that a person has the hepatitis C virus. A negative result means that the body has cleared the virus without treatment.
The second test is the hep C RNA quantitative test. The result of this test is given as a number rather than a positive or negative. This is because the test compares the amount of the virus in the body before, during, and after treatment.
The number given as a result of this test is known as the viral load. The lower amount of the hepatitis C virus in the blood, the better the chances that a person can eliminate the virus from their body.
After hepatitis C virus is diagnosed, other tests may be needed:
Certain behaviors, experiences, and medical procedures increase the risk of getting the hepatitis C virus, which is transmitted by contact with blood.
The following are risk factors for contracting the virus:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C. Baby boomers are people born between 1945 and 1965. They are five times more likely to have the virus than other adults.
Enzyme Immunoassays For Detection Of Hepatitis C Antibody
The HCV Ab test is used for initial screening for hepatitis C. The test is performed by enzyme immunoassays , which detect the presence of hepatitis C antibodies in serum. The result of the test is reported as positive or negative. Third-generation EIAs have a sensitivity/specificity of approximately 99%. However, the presence of HCV Ab does not indicate whether the infection is acute, chronic, or resolved. A positive antibody test result should be followed up with an HCV RNA test to confirm that viremia is present.
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Question 8 What Do The Following Hcv Rna Results Mean: < 15 Iu/ml Detected Or < 15 Iu/ml Not Detected
The result < 15 IU/mL, Detected means that HCV RNA is detected, although at a level that is too low to be quantified. This result could indicate current active HCV infection if consistent with other clinical and laboratory data. NOTE: If this test is being performed for HCV diagnosis, then this < 15 IU/mL Detected result should be confirmed using a second sample from the patient.
In contrast, the result < 15 IU/mL, Not Detected means that HCV RNA is not detected and there is no evidence of current active infection.
Quest Diagnostics measures HCV RNA viral load with the Roche cobas® HCV methodology. This is a quantitative real-time PCR assay with a lower limit of quantification of 15 IU/mL the limit of detection is slightly lower, at 10 IU/mL to 13 IU/mL. If the viral load is just at or above this LOD, but less than 15 IU/mL, the assay can determine that HCV RNA is present but cannot provide a reliable quantitative result. In such cases, the qualitative result of < 15 IU/mL, Detected is provided.
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Who Should Get Tested For Hepatitis C
The CDC recommends that you get tested at least once no matter what. Definitely get screened if any of these things apply to you:
- You were born between 1945 and 1965.
- You use or inject drugs.
- You have ever injected drugs — even if it was just once or a long time ago.
- Youâre on kidney dialysis.
- You have abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels .
- You had a blood transfusion, blood components, or an organ transplant before July 1992.
- Youâve ever gotten clotting factor concentrates made before 1987.
- You received blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C virus.
- Youâre a health care worker, first responder, or have another job that exposes you to HCV-infected needles.
- You were born to a mother with HCV.
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What Does Hcv Ab Measure
Hepatitis C is one of the five hepatitis viruses identified so far, including A, B, D, and E, that are known to cause the disease. HCV causes liver inflammation and damage. It is spread by exposure to contaminated blood, sharing of needles by intravenous drug users, sharing personal items contaminated by blood such as razors, through sex with an infected person, via healthcare occupational exposure, and, less commonly, from mother to baby during childbirth.
It has been observed that most infected people do not see any symptoms which makes them unaware of the condition. The acute HCV infection may cause few to mild nonspecific symptoms. This chronic infection may not show any symptoms for a decade or two before causing sufficient liver damage to affect liver function.
Hepatitis C antibody tests are used to screen individuals with risk factors, people who have symptoms associated with hepatitis or liver disease, or those who have been exposed to the virus.
It is possible that the antibody test remains positive even after clearing the infection. So to further diagnose, the test is followed by a hepatitis C RNA test. This test detects the genetic material of the virus. A positive result on the RNA test may indicate the virus is present, the infection has not resolved, and the requirement of treatment.
Many times, a liver panel test is also prescribed by the physician which will include a hepatitis C test to help assess the health of the liver.
Take An Active Approach To Testing
Testing for HCV: the diagnosis of HCV infection requires 2 tests.
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