How is the diagnosis of Hepatitis C made?
The diagnosis is most commonly made after finding abnormal liver function by detecting an antibody to a portion of HCV in the blood. This indicates that the person was exposed to the virus and that their immune system made an antibody. The test can show false positive reactions and therefore confirmation is necessary by finding evidence that the Hepatitis C virus is actually in the blood using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), an extremely sensitive test for viral RNA.
