HCV Diagnosis ELISA confusing

[henryjack]

Hi everyone,

I recently did the ELISA test and the results showed up HCV antibody positive (antibody level - 48.4) at hospital 1. Then, I repeated this ELISA test at hospital 2 just to be sure and the results came negative. Following that, I repeated this same test at hospital 3, and they came positive again with antibody levels at 33. I had absolutely no symptoms. Hospital 3 also tested my liver enzymes which came to be normal.

Following this, I did another ELISA test at hospital 4 which came negative. I also did the Quantitative and Qualitative HCV RNA test, both of which came negative as well. Anyone here with any idea what's going on and whom to believe? Could this be a case of false positive, in which I don't understand why the antibody test has been all over. Could there be a possible explanation of why the antibodies came positive at two instances in the first place? Also, is there anything I should watch out for in the future. Appreciate the response guys!

[flyinlynn]

Could be you were once exposed to the virus and cleared on your own. But if the HVC RNA is negative my understanding is you are not infected.

And since you have had mixed results on the ELISA my bet would be those were false positives.

Also just a side note liver enzymes can be normal even if infected with hep c so thaey are not a good indicator of infection or level of liver damage if a person has hep c.

Here is a link from the CDC frequently asked questions about hep c for more information

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/c/cfaq.htm

Good luck and good health
Lynn

[Dbzc2]

Sounds like you might have been exposed? The viral load fluctuates in a normal chronic case.  Keep in mind not everybody becomes chronic.  It took 30 yeasts before I has actual liver side effects from hep c.  I would test once a year and see one hepatologist just to be safe.

You know you could have a gazillion blood tests done just for Red blood cell counts, and all would be different.

Look at the NIH.org website on Hep C.  The percentage of chronic active is not as high as you might think.  

[henryjack]

Thank you very much for your response friend. Wish you good health.

[Idyllic]

All I can say is be glad you are free of Hepatitis C. I can appreciate your curiosity but can't really explain it in an easy to understand way.

The best explanation comes from another web site since it can be complicated

http://hepatitis.about.com/od/diagnosis/a/HCVtests.htm


The ELISA test is very sensitive and picks up approximately 95% of people who have antibodies as positive. However, it's so sensitive that sometimes it over-identifies antibodies in your blood as geared towards hepatitis C even sometimes when they're not. This degree of sensitivity has its advantages. For instance, when the ELISA test is negative, you can feel very confident that you are hepatitis C free. However, if the ELISA test is positive, there is a small possibility that the result could be incorrect. This is called a "false-positive" result. False-positives are most likely considered in people who lack the risk factors for hepatitis C.

When the ELISA test is weakly positive or when doctors think the test result doesn't match what they see clinically, a second test may be used to verify the original results. This test may be the RIBA test or another test, called HCV RNA, that directly measures the virus. The RIBA test (which stands for Recombinant ImmunoBlot Assay) uses a different approach to finding hepatitis C antibodies in your blood. If this test is positive, you probably have been infected with hepatitis C. It's important to realize that antibody tests usually can't distinguish between past or current infection. Doctors must use clinical information (such as medical history, signs and symptoms) or other tests to determine active or past infection.