really worried

hi all, recently i was screened for Hep C hep B and HIV and all came negative except for Hep C, i was so worried and i had no drugs or any of that background, had only 1 unprotective contact with my girl wich is negative for hep C, anyways, i waited for a week and went to a diffirent lab and the result came out negative. so iam really confused, which to believe and what to do next? thanks in advance for your support. may god bless u all

[Babs1469]

I think the only thing you can do is get tested again. Third times the charm right? I'm sorry you are being put through this, It must be so nerve racking, Just know that if you are positive for Hep C, it is a totally livable disease,

[hasmas13]

thanks a lot for the answer, but i mean where could i ever get it ? if my gf is negative and i never had any drugs and only 1 time not protective contact with my gf how would hep c comes positive the first time and negative after a week. it was hep c antibody not pcr. first one was positive from lab a then i went to lab b after a week and its negative now here is the thing, i got my answer for the first time in 4 hours time and the second one it took them a day to reply. thanks

[Rockerforlife]

Do you go the dentist of have a tatto?..of pericings?

[Rockerforlife]

Snort Drugs?

[hasmas13]

non of these, maybe dentist yea couple of times or so but tattos percings or drugs never, i never ever smoked had alcohol or did drugs anyyyyy kind of drugs. only 1 time unprotected contact with gf who was tested neg for hep c thats all. i got 2 analysis 1 says positive antigen and 1 week after says negative antigen i dont know who to trust and iam gonna do a third one but iam so scared

[Bill1954]

Hello, Hasmas—

It sounds as though you have tested positive as well as negative for Hep C (HCV) antibody test.

You should now have a confirmatory test performed; this can either be the RIBA test which confirms exposure to the virus, or better yet, ask for a “HCV RNA by PCR” test. This checks for the presence of active virus, and is very concise. If the PCR test is negative you will not have the virus.

Do NOT continue with antibody tests; one positive is enough t warrant the expense of a HCV RNA by PCR test.

Good luck--

Bill

[hasmas13]

but dont u believe in the false positive? or lab errors? i did these tests in ukraine and they dont have reliable labs its not like in the states or other developed countries that when they give u a positive is a positive.

[Bill1954]

The PCR test is not prone to error; unlike the HCV antibody test. Where are you now? In the Ukraine?

Besides, antibody test only checks for exposure; PCR test is for active virus. In 20% of cases, it is possible to be antibody positive, RNA negative.

The standard clinical algorithm is to test for antibodies; if positive, then test by either ‘RIBA’ or ‘HCV RNA by PCR’.

RIBA only confirms exposure but does not test for active virus.

Hep C (HCV) is not efficiently transmitted through sexual contact.

Bill

[Rockerforlife]

The only way to get it from a woman is if she is on a heavy period and and you have broken skin on your penis or if you have anal sex with her..did you use her toothbrush by mistake,another possibllty but very slim....if you are UD in the next PCR test and you still have the C antibodies,this means you body fought it off and your ok....BUT....i cannot see where you got the antibodies in the first place...not from birth>?


"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened"

[hasmas13]

well then the only thing that i have done is sexual contact 1 time without protection with my gf who is negative for hep c, other than that i havent done any of the blood transfusions or drugs or anything!!  i just did routine check up in 1 lab, i couldnt believe that it took them 4 hours to have my results back which was positive hep c antibody they i was freaked out, went to a doc freind of mine and he was like there is no way that i could have had the virus, he said next week we go to another lab, so before that i had ultra sound of my liver and everything was normal, i did cbc and biochem and  LFT all were normals and i did the hep c antibody in that other lab wich took them 1 day to process and the answer came back negative hep c the next day. i have no symptoms of any jaundice nor diarhea (diarrhea) nor anythin

[hasmas13]

i mean come on iam living in a country where they gave my freind HIV pos! and he never had drugs nor sexual contact and got HIV neg in 3 other labs! lol now iam in emirate and they have this law that they deport people if they hep c positive, i have visit visa not work visa i dont know if the law imply on me or not if not i would do it here and settle the issue but iam leaving to ukraine in 5 days time so i guess iam gonna do it there, iam gonna do another hep c antibody in 2 other places if both got neg i think i can not worry about it

[Bill1954]

I understand your concern, but unfortunately, the method of transmission isn’t the point here.

HCV antibody testing is not very accurate be design; it is intended as a tool to screen large groups of patients in a cost effective fashion.

If a patient in that screening tests positive, he is then pulled out of that pool and tested using more accurate methods.

Most HCV patients do not report visible symptoms; I most likely had the disease for over thirty years with very few visible clues; do not use that method for diagnosis.

There are many people in this Medhelp group that do not know how they acquired the virus; do not speculate how you got it either; just take the tests and act accordingly—

Bill

[hasmas13]

ok now i have to see if the place iam going to have pcr lol, and then see how it goes from then :(( so depressing i mean iam gonna be an MD soon and i dont even know my future work if i have hep c positive how am i gonna practice medicine! my whole future is kinda gone

[Rockerforlife]

The odds are you  are totally clean from any disease.relax and your gonna be ok.Looks like they dont know what the hell they are doing.

[hasmas13]

thanks a lot rockerforlife i hope everything will be fine.

[Bill1954]

I understand your concerns. You are a medical student?

Here in the US, doctors and all health care professionals are allowed to work if they are HCV positive. In fact, many of them have become infected *because* of their work; needle stick accidents, surgery etc.

In the U.S. the PCR test requires 7 to 10 days turn results around; it takes a special laboratory to perform the test.

Do I understand you are in the United Arab Emirates right now? Wouldn’t they have PCR testing technology?

Take the test. There is a relatively high rate of false positive results with the HCV antibody testing (EIA). And then even if exposure did occur, about 20% of patients will have their own immune response defeat the virus.

Very good luck to you, and if you have time, let us know how the results look, OK?

Bill

[hasmas13]

thanks a lot bill, iam leaving to ukrane in 5 days time i dont think i have time of the pcr in emirate, my concer is that there is a law in emirate that they deport people with hep c tb and hiv, now i dont know if this work for the visit visa or only for work visa, thats why i dont wanna take the risk. more over i used my 2nd lab result which showed negative hcv to practice in a hospital affiliated with johns hopkins medical. iam gonna do the pcr test and the antibody test when iam back to ukraine and hopefully i update u with the result and i hope everything will be fine

[Rockerforlife]

: False-positive results for hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) occur with unacceptable frequency in low-prevalence populations

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=20971880


i did not know this

[hasmas13]

what does that mean? does that give me hope? i just couldnt read some coz the info is all over

[Bill1954]

Very well.

If available, an ‘HCV RNA by PCR Qualitative’ test will yield a viral load if positive; and you might consider asking for a test that ‘reflexes’ to genotype if positive.

If reflexed, the genotype test will only be performed if the RNA is positive. Genotyping is critical information for HCV management if you do have a positive result.

Best to you, and good luck with completing school--

Bill

[hasmas13]

thanks a lot bill appreciate it