S/CO

Question

Dear med experts, 

I am in a total dilemma and desperately seek your advice! I am planning to get married in 3 months. So as a routine health checkup, I did screening and all results are fine expect my hep C. It says POSITIVE - "<5.0 S/CO"
 - "Presumptive evidence of antibodies to HCV; screening results with S/CO ratios of <5.0 requires reflex supplemental tests". I am thinking that since my results in the lower 5% tail, there is 5% probability of having hep C virus? Now my question is how often do such low S/CO turn out to be false positives? I guess 5% of the times but realistically what you think? I am in a big dilemma now whether to tell my fiance. Looks like the method they used is Abbott's architect anti-HCV (I am just guessing from 5.0 cutoff).

thanks!

willbb · Accepted Answer

Hi,,
 With  a weak s/co there is a good chance it was a false positive result.

The initial antibodies test is very sensitive for any antibody and can sometimes cross-react with antibodies to other conditions,therfore you can get false positives for HCV.

You now need to get a HCV/RNA by PCR done to ascertain if you have had a false positive or possibly have been exposed and either cleared the virus by your own immune system or are actively infected with HCV.

Good luck and welcome to the group..

Will

anxiouszoey · Answer

Doc just called to inform that my RNA/PCR test came "undetectable"/negative. Such a big  relief! However, she said the 
test does'nt indicate if I have had the infection in the past and if it has 
developed into a chronic liver disease...what does it mean?? I thought
I was fine if RNA came back negative..but looks like my worries are far 
from over. Doc has asked me to take RIBA test..she said if this new test came positive, I will have to see a liver doc and take treatment for any liver
damage. Do I really have to take RIBA? Can I just forget about it and get on with my life?? 
Greatly appreciate your response. Just want to thank all of you for taking 
time to reply to my message...I have been literally freaking out every day and totally lost my sleep over this

rivll · Answer

I think you are right to wait. Why create more anxiety if it turns out to be false? Like Will said, it probably is a false positive. 

If not, you are young and will have good options for treatment down the line. Since it is spread blood to blood it is unlikely she will get it from you. You both can work all that out, but it is not a terribly bleak picture, even if you do have the virus.
However I would stay in a positive frame of mind and assume, until you know otherwise, that it is a false positive.

anxiouszoey · Answer

Yes, I think she has every right to know but I should probably wait until I see my RNA results. Given my low s/co levels, it could turn out to be a false positive. In which case, its probably not worth all the mental stress to everyone (including my family). I am very tempted to go for and repeat my antibodies test but after reading on internet I don't know if its reliable. I should have directly gone for RNA instead of antibodies. At this point I just hope my result is a false positive. I wish there was a publicly available database with historical false positives between antibodies and RNA...to get a sense of how often false positives happen for low s/co level antibodies

Sonney12 · Answer

Both my parents and I have the disease unsure how my father got it, my mother did have a transfusion in 82 and I prob got it from one of them. It is something you should get your fiance in. She needs to understand the disease just as you do people judge and mistreat you because they do not understand the disease.

orphanedhawk · Answer

There are many people who have no idea how they contracted the virus.
Many of us had it for decades, raised kids and our spouses and kids didn't get it.

As far as telling your fiance goes, if the position was reversed, wouldn't you want to know ?
If you trust this person enough to marry him, shouldn't you trust him enough to tell him that you might have hep C ?
Marriage is about sharing both the good things and the bad.

You might want to gather more information before telling him. Try looking at:
www.hepcadvocate.org

Good luck

anxiouszoey · Answer

thanks Will. 
I am getting a RNA quanlitative and quantitative PCR done tomorrow. It will probably take a week or so before I get the result. 
Whats the actual cut-off for s/co? There seems to be no agreement on it and it seems to depend on the antibody method used to detect. Looks like there are two cutoffs: one to decide between non-reactive and reactive and another (5.0 in my case) to decide between borderline/grayarea and high ratios. 

Also, when I gave sample for antibody test I was on antibiotics for couple of weeks and probably went out drinking the previous night. I wonder if these bumped up my antibodies? Going back to what you said. Assuming there is a cross-reaction in my results, it still means that I have anti-bodies in my body..maybe not HCV but for someother disease!?

anxiouszoey · Answer

forgot to mention .. I never used drugs, needles etc. and never had blood transfusion or something. I do drink though..sometimes every week and more than month ago had a brief unprotected sex... but I keep away from sex (last I had sex was more than a year before my exposure last month)