Hepatitis C Testing

Tell me about the Hepatitis C test. Will I have to get swabbed?

No, the test for Hepatitis C is a blood test, so you will not need to get undressed or swabbed. The Hepatitis C Surface Antibody Test (Anti-HCV) is a blood test that screens for early signs of the infection. It looks for the presence of antibodies to the virus which develop as your body's immune response to the infection. These antibodies usually appear in the serum several weeks after exposure to the virus.

What does the test result mean?

This test screens for the earliest indicator of acute Hepatitis C infection. A positive result indicates an early infection. A negative result indicates that there is no active or prior infection. In general, if the Hepatitis C test is strongly positive, it could mean that the infection has been present for some time. The diagnosis is typically confirmed by the finding of the Hepatitis C RNA in serum with additional testing.