HIV - Hepatitis B - Hepatitis C Blood Test

This test determines whether you have ever had hepatitis C by checking the level of anti-hepatitis C antibodies in your blood. Various laboratories will present results in various ways. Antibodies that are labelled as "detected," "positive," or "reactive" indicate that you have contracted hepatitis C.

A test for a current infection must be performed after a positive result because this test cannot determine whether your illness is currently present.

Your test results will be "not identified," "negative," or "non-reactive" if you have not contracted hepatitis C. There may not have been enough time for antibodies to develop if you did not give yourself enough time between your potential exposure to hepatitis C and your test.

This denotes a possibility that your test could result in a "false negative." It is advised to undergo the test again after 6 months if you think you may be at risk of contracting hepatitis C.

A viral infection called hepatitis C can inflame the liver and leave it scarred.It can harm the liver permanently if untreated for a long period of time. Most persons who are treated for hepatitis C recover successfully from the infection; 20% of infected people are able to clear the virus on their own.

Hepatitis C is typically spread by contact with blood. Hepatitis C infections are most frequently caused by sharing needles, but they can also be passed from a woman to her unborn child and (less frequently) during unprotected sex.

It may be necessary to test for hepatitis C for healthcare workers or those who may come into contact with blood from others while performing their duties. Hepatitis C cannot be prevented by a vaccination.

The body creates antibodies to combat the virus after contracting the herpes virus.

The immune system produces anti-HIV antibodies in response to either type 1 or type 2 HIV infection. P24 antigen, a protein from the HIV virus's core, is present during initial HIV infection but vanishes after seroconversion.

The results of this test will indicate whether or not HIV antibodies and p24 antigen were found in the blood.