What blood tests are available to check for hepatitis C?
There are several blood tests that can be done to determine if you have been infected with HCV. Your doctor may order just one or a combination of these tests. The following are the types of tests your doctor may order and the purpose for each: a) Anti-HCV (antibody to HCV) EIA (enzyme immunoassay) Test is usually done first. If positive, it should be confirmed Anti-HCV does not tell whether the infection is new (acute), chronic (long-term) or is no longer present.
There are several blood tests that can be done to determine if you have been infected with HCV. You may need to be tested with one or two of the tests listed below to confirm the diagnosis: a) Anti-HCV (antibody to HCV) • EIA (enzyme immunoassay) This test is usually done first. If positive, it should be confirmed • RIBA (recombinant immunoblot assay) A supplemental test used to confirm a positive EIA test Anti-HCV does not tell whether the infection is new (acute), chronic (long-term) or is no longer present. In most cases, this test is no longer used. b) Qualitative tests to detect presence or absence of virus (HCV RNA) This test will be reported as either positive (virus present) or negative (no virus present) c) Quantitative tests to detect amount (titer) of virus (HCV RNA) A single positive PCR test indicates infection with HCV. A single negative test does not prove that a person is not infected. Virus may be present in the blood and just not found by PCR. Also, a person infected
– There are several blood tests that can be done to determine if you have been infected with HCV. Your doctor may order just one or a combination of these tests. The following are the types of tests your doctor may order and the purpose for each: a. Anti-HCV (antibody to HCV): An EIA (enzyme immunoassay) or CIA (enhanced chemiluminescence immunoassay) test is usually done first. If positive, it should be confirmed. A RIBA (recombinant immunoblot assay) is a supplemental test that is used to confirm a positive EIA test. b. Qualitative tests to detect presence or absence of virus (HCV RNA) c. Quantitative tests to detect amount (titer) of virus (HCV RNA) 4. Can you have a “false positive” anti-HCV test result? – Yes. a. A false positive test means the test looks as if it is positive, but it is really negative. This happens more often in persons who have a low risk for the disease for which they are being tested. For example, false positive anti-HCV tests happen more often in persons such
