Hepatitis C

[aburris]

I was treated sucessfully 18 years ago with Intrferon/Ribavirin sucessfully. I never thought about it again till recently because i have rheumatoid arthritis and the Rheumatologist wanted me to do testing. My Hep C antibody was reactive at 21.80 and should be less than <1.00. The HCV RNA Quantitative real time was not detected. So i am very confused and scared that hep c came back

[hrsepwrguy]

Your antibodies never went away even after SVR, you will always be positive for antibodies, nothing you can do about it. Your PCR is not detected so no worries.
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A reactive antibody test does not necessarily mean a person still has Hepatitis C. Once people have been infected, they will always have antibodies in their blood. This is true if even if they have cleared the Hepatitis C virus. A reactive antibody test requires an additional, follow-up test to determine if a person is currently infected with Hepatitis C.

http://www.cdc.gov/knowmorehepatitis/LearnMore.htm

[flyinlynn]

Totally agree. Those who were infected in the past will always test positive for antibodies to hep c. Antibodies are not the virus they are made by your own body in response to an infection. Hep c antibodies are a part of your own immune system.

[FreedomMK]

The newer drugs are much more effective than the old interferon treatment, and without the nasty side effects.

So if you still have the virus, you can get rid of it much more easily now.

[MHEditor]

Here is some information for you from MedHelp.org on the new treatments, in case you need it. They have very few side effects.

http://www.medhelp.org/hepatitis-c/articles/Managing-Side-Effects-of-Hepatitis-C-Treatment/2259

We really hope that your Hep C hasn't come back, and you won't need this information!

[flyinlynn]

OP stated HCV RNA by PCR was not detected. So they don't have hep c.

[pitter]

try doing a search up at top of page on "Antibodies in blood after SVR"  I don't know fully myself to answer you, but did see the same question posted before, and the answer may come up again if you search it

[pitter]

oops, didn't see the above answers before I posted my answer.