HCV Viral load, Anti Bodies and Genotype

6 yrs ago I was diagnosed with HCV.  Two years ago I did my first HCV panel.  The results were my Viral load is less than 10, my Anti Bodies an 11, and my genotype was undetected?  What does this mean?  The doctor told me it was too low in my system to be tested. I just did another panel today and I have to wait for the results.  As far as I know within the 6 yrs that I was diagnosed, everything has been normal on me, I don't even get symptoms.  If my results are the same this time around, it is possible that I am a false-positive?

[Bill1954]

Hi there,

Based on the info you provided, it appears you might have been exposed to the virus at some point in the past, but spontaneously cleared during the initial six months of infection.

Without a viral load present, you do not have active, RNA virus, and never developed chronic infection. You will continue to test positive for HCV antibodies; perhaps for life, but they are not contagious, nor do they present any issues to your health.

No further actions should be required on your part.

Congratulations,

Bill

[aalmeida2]

Thank you!

[GFRY]

" You will continue to test positive for HCV antibodies; perhaps for life "
what do you mean by perhaps BILL??? is it possible for antibodies to disappear after some time??

[GFRY]

congratulations , you don't have the virus , hcv PCR is a very sensitive test for hepatitis c , if the the result is < 10 then you absolutely don't have the virus , being positive for antibodies means you did had the virus at some time but your immune system fought it off and got rid of it , happens with about 15 to 20 % of cases so live your life and forget all about this virus  

[aalmeida2]

Thank you.  

As to what Bill said I believe it is possible for antibodies to disappear.  When I first got tested my doctor told me that my immune system is strong and that my body could flush it out eventually.  This is the reason why I am doing my tests 2 yrs later as she recommended to see if they are reducing.  I didn't understand much of what she told me, just that my results were good ones.  I have been trying to dig deeper to learn more, and asked a lot more questions at this doctor visit than the first.  What mainly puzzled me was not having a detectable genotype with testing positive for antibodies.  I did not know until today that my viral load was less than 10.

[Bill1954]

I believe I’ve read literature that states some patients may experience seroreversion; this is where antibodies can no longer be detectable. The virus was only identified in 1991 or so; 20 years might not be enough time to completely understand this.

For more on seroconversion/seroreversion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seroconversion

--Bill

[Bill1954]

According to this abstract from 2002, the rate of HCV seroreversion was found to be 19.4% during the course of the study:

“Results: The overall confirmed anti-HCV prevalence was 2.4%. Two participants seroconverted for anti-HCV, giving an overall infection rate of 1.4 cases per 10 000 person years (95% confidence interval 0.2–5.2 per 10 000 person years). Of the 36 individuals confirmed as anti-HCV positive at enrolment, seven (19.4%) showed complete seroreversion. Seven (87%) of the eight individuals with indeterminate results at enrolment were serologically non-reactive at the end of follow up. Of the 25 participants confirmed to be anti-HCV positive at both enrolment and follow up, 23 (92.0%) with stable serological profiles tested positive for HCV-RNA at the end of follow up.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1773195/

--Bill

[Bill1954]

“What mainly puzzled me was not having a detectable genotype with testing positive for antibodies.  I did not know until today that my viral load was less than 10.”

After speaking with the doctor, you now realize that HCV genotyping requires quantifiable viral load in order to process the test? I don’t have specifics, but I believe sufficient HCV RNA is necessary to determine genotype,.

Bill

[Diane12855]

Antibodies are made by our body  in response to the presence of the virus. The genotype is taken from the virus, which is the invader... if they can't find any virus, they can't tell you what genotype it was.

Diane

[aalmeida2]

I think I read somewhere that the virus can lay dormant in a body and grow over the years.........is this true.  Is it possible that the VL is too low now to test but can increase in time?  Where I still do have to worry about my health?