HCV in Dehradun

What is a HCV?

The anti-HCV test detects antibodies your immune system has made against the hepatitis C virus. Understanding exactly what that means avoids a great deal of unnecessary alarm. Antibodies mean exposure, not necessarily current infection. Roughly a quarter of people who catch hepatitis C clear it spontaneously, yet they keep the antibodies for life and will test reactive forever despite having no virus. This is why a reactive anti-HCV is always followed by an HCV RNA test, which looks for the virus itself and answers the question the antibody test cannot: is the infection still there. Hepatitis C spreads through blood, principally unsterile needles and instruments, transfusion before screening was routine, and sharing injecting equipment; sexual transmission is much less efficient than with hepatitis B. Its defining feature is silence. Most people have no symptoms for years or decades while the liver is quietly scarred, and the infection is often discovered incidentally on a routine test. The reason this matters so much now is that hepatitis C is curable in the great majority of cases with a course of oral antiviral tablets, typically over eight to twelve weeks.

Why take this test?

An HCV test is advised after any possible blood exposure: a needlestick or sharps injury, an unsterile tattoo, piercing or dental procedure, sharing injecting equipment, or a transfusion received before routine donor screening. It should be checked in anyone with unexplained raised liver enzymes, jaundice, or fatty liver that does not fit the usual picture, and in anyone on long-term dialysis. It is standard before surgery and in donor screening, and it is commonly run as a viral marker panel alongside hepatitis B and HIV, which share transmission routes. It is worth testing simply on the basis of a past risk even decades ago, precisely because the infection is silent and because a positive finding today leads to a curative treatment rather than to lifelong management.

• Needlestick, sharps or occupational blood exposure
• Unsterile tattoo, piercing or dental work
• A transfusion received before routine donor screening
• Unexplained raised liver enzymes or jaundice
• Long-term dialysis
• Before surgery, or as part of a viral marker panel

Normal reference ranges

Ranges are indicative for adults. Your report carries the lab-specific reference range and is reviewed by a LabONE pathologist; always interpret results with your doctor.

FAQs: HCV in Dehradun