Viral load refers to the amount of virus present in the bloodstream. Doctors use it as an indicator of whether a treatment is working to reduce virus levels. An undetected viral load suggests a successful treatment of hepatitis
Hepatitis
Inflammatory condition of the liver.
What is the viral load for hepatitis C?
The viral load for hepatitis C refers to the amount of hepatitis C virus (HCV) present in a person’s bloodstream. A hepatitis C viral load can indicate if people have contracted an active hepatitis C infection or whether treatment is reducing levels of the virus.
How is Hep C treated if my viral load is low?
Usually, your hep C treatment will be the same no matter how high or low your viral load is. Your doctor will use your virus levels to monitor how you respond to interferon, interferon plus ribavirin, or other drugs.
How long does it take to cure Hep C?
The goal of hep C therapy is to drop your virus count low enough so it’s undetectable. If that’s the case 3 months after you finish your treatment, you’re considered cured. This happens in more than 90% of people who get the recommended treatments. High viral load: This is when your count is more than 800,000 IU/mL.
What is a sustained virological response to hepatitis C?
A third one, called branched-chain DNA (bDNA), may miss viral loads below 615 IU/mL. Sustained virological response: This is when the most sensitive tests find no trace of HCV in your blood 12 weeks after you stop treatment. It’s also called a viral cure. It means your disease is in remission and your hep C is no longer active.
What is a good viral load for hep C?
For each patient, the result can be described as either a "high" viral load, which is usually >800,000 IU/L, or a "low" viral load, which is usually <800,000 IU/L. It's not uncommon to have a viral load in the millions. Today's hepatitis C treatments are very effective with both high and low viral loads.
What is considered a low viral load for hep C?
Low viral load: This is a count below 800,000 IU/mL. Your odds that treatment will make all or most of your HCV go away are better than with a high viral load.
Can you transmit hep C with no viral load?
Negative – this means you were infected with hepatitis C virus, but the virus is no longer in your body because you were cured or cleared the virus naturally. Positive – this means you currently have the virus in your blood and are infectious, meaning you can spread the virus to others.
Which HCV is better response for treatment?
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2a has a better virologic response to antiviral therapy than HCV genotype 1b - PMC. The . gov means it's official.
Can you live a normal life with hep C?
Most people with chronic HCV can live a normal life, providing that doctors are able to diagnose it before any liver damage or other complications occur.
Do hep C antibodies go away?
After a successful course of treatment for hepatitis C, the hepatitis C antibody remains detectable, but the hepatitis C RNA will be undetectable. If you plan to donate blood, you will be tested for the hepatitis C antibody and will be turned away even if you do not have an active infection.
What foods should you avoid if you have hep C?
FoodsRaw oysters or shellfish. They can have bacteria that give you serious infections that are more severe if you have hep C.Fatty, sugary foods. They can stress your liver or lead to fat deposits in it.Salty foods. Avoid these if you have fluid buildup in your belly or legs.
Can hep C come back after successful treatment?
It's possible, but rare, for hepatitis C infection to reappear after apparently successful treatment. Relapses usually occur in the first few months after blood testing to confirm that the virus is no longer detectable. Sometimes, however, a relapse becomes evident much later.
Can you donate blood after being cured of hep C?
No, you cannot donate blood if you ever had hepatitis C, even if you spontaneously cleared the virus or if you were successfully cured with medication.
When do you recheck Hep C after treatment?
However, because relapses beyond SVR12 have rarely been reported, treatment guidelines recommend confirming cure by testing for HCV RNA at 24 to 48 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR24 or SVR48). Late relapse, when it occurs, typically happens between 12 and 24 weeks posttreatment.
When should I retest for hep C?
Tell your doctor if you think you've been exposed within the previous 3 months. If you're still within the window period, you'll need to repeat the test to confirm the negative result. A positive result indicates you have hepatitis C antibodies.
What is sustained viral response?
Sustained virologic response means that the hepatitis C virus is not detected in the blood 12 weeks or more after completing treatment. Is SVR the same as “cure”? About 99% of people are considered cured of their infection when the virus is not detected 12 weeks or more after completing treatment.
How long does hepatitis C last?
In fact, in a small number of people, the infection resolves on its own. However, a hepatitis C infection can last anywhere from a few weeks to a lifetime. The illness can lead to: liver damage. liver cancer. the need for a liver transplant.
What is an antibody test for hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C virus antibody test. An HCV antibody test is a simple blood test used for screening purposes. While this test can detect that HCV has been in your bloodstream, it can’t tell the difference between a previous infection and an active one.
How long does it take for HCV to be detected?
At the end of the planned course of treatment, which is generally 8 to 12 weeks. Trusted Source. , an undetectable viral load means that treatment can be stopped. A sustained virologic response is when the most sensitive tests find no trace of HCV 12 weeks after stopping treatment.
What is the HCV RNA test?
The HCV RNA qualitative test can tell the difference between past and current infections. This test measures the amount of virus in your blood. A third test, viral genotyping, can zero in on the specific HCV in your body. There are several different types of HCV.
How does hepatitis C affect a child?
A birthing parent with hepatitis C can transmit the virus to her infant during childbirth. The amount of virus in the bloodstream at any given time is called the viral load.
What is viral load testing?
the need for a liver transplant. Once the proper course of treatment is determined, viral load testing can be used to monitor its success and guide future healthcare decisions.
Is viral load higher in hepatitis C?
Low vs. high viral load. With certain other infections, having a higher viral load means a higher level of illness, but that isn’t the case with hepatitis C. Your viral load has no bearing on how ill you feel or how much liver damage you may experience now or in the future. However, viral load is an important indication ...
How long does it take for hep C to cure?
The goal of hep C therapy is to drop your virus count low enough so it’s undetectable. If that’s the case 3 months after you finish your treatment, you’re considered cured. This happens in more than 90% of people who get the recommended treatments.
What does it mean when you have hep C?
It means your disease is in remission and your hep C is no longer active. Your liver may start to heal, and your chances for liver failure and liver cancer may drop. To confirm, you may need to repeat the test or take a qualitative test that checks if you’re negative for any trace of viral genetic material.
What is viral load?
Your viral load is how much hepatitis C virus (HCV) is in your blood. Your starting level can give a clue to your chances of success with treatment. Changes in your viral load also can tell your doctor if you’re sticking to your therapy and if you’re getting enough drugs to control your disease. But your viral load measures only what’s happening in ...
What does it mean when you have a viral load test?
Viral Load Tests. They check your blood for HCV’s genetic footprints. If any are found, it means that you have active hep C and that your viruses are multiplying. Viral load tests come in two types: Qualitative: This can confirm if you have hep C or not. A positive test means it found HCV genetic code in your blood.
What does it mean when a test is positive for HCV?
A positive test means it found HCV genetic code in your blood. Negative means it found no measurable virus. Qualitative tests are very sensitive, meaning that if you have a current hep C infection, they almost always will find it. Quantitative: This is often called a hep C RNA test.
Does hep C have the same effect on viral load?
Usually, your hep C treatment will be the same no matter how high or low your viral load is. Your doctor will use your virus levels to monitor how you respond to the medication. The drugs you’re prescribed will depend less on your viral count than on your overall health, genetic makeup of your HCV, and other things.
How much viral load is hepatitis C?
Insofar as viral hepatitis C is concerned, a high viral load is usually over 800,000 IU/L, while a low viral load is under 800,000 IU/L. This range can vary significantly, however, based on what is considered average in a specific region or population.
Why is viral load important?
Why Viral Load Is Important. Doctors use your viral load to determine how well you're responding to anti-viral treatment. Typically your viral load will be tested before you start therapy (for hepatitis C, for instance) and then repeated periodically to measure how you are responding.
What does it mean when you have an undetectable viral load?
2 . An undetectable viral load does not necessarily mean you have no virus in your blood or that you've achieved a cure. However, if you are able to sustain an undetectable viral load for a period ...
What is viral load?
A viral load is simply the measurement of the amount of virus in your blood. Viral load measurements are commonly used to monitor chronic viral diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV) . BSIP / UIG / Getty Images. In the case of HCV, a test called a quantitative HCV RNA assay is used to measure the virus's genetic material ...
How many viral load results are needed to assess treatment efficacy?
At least two viral load results are needed to assess treatment efficacy. A significantly reduced viral load, like a 100-fold decrease in viral actively, generally means that treatment is working.
What is the test used to detect the RNA of a virus?
BSIP / UIG / Getty Images. In the case of HCV, a test called a quantitative HCV RNA assay is used to measure the virus's genetic material (RNA) detected in a milliliter of blood. 1 Other technologies can be also used to monitor viral activity, most of which do so by detecting either viral DNA or RNA.
How many Eq/ml is negative for hepatitis C?
– In clinical trials, ‘ negative ‘ nowadays normally is defined as less than 100 Eq/ml.
What is the first diagnosis of hepatitis C?
The first diagnosis of your hepatitis C was probably made due to the result of an (relatively cheap) antibody test such as ELISA or similar. The result of this test was ‘ positive ‘, and that means that your body at some time has come into contact with the hepatitis C virus and that the immune system of your body developed antibodies ...
How to find the order of magnitude of a viral load?
If you don’t have a calculator, you can estimate the order of magnitude of a viral load expressed as a logarithmic number. From the logarithmic number, you take the first digit (to the left of the point ) and add 1 to this number. This gives you the number of digits that your viral load has (expressed as a plain number).
What does eq mean in hepc?
More precisely, it means that the amount of hepC genetic material found in your blood corresponds to as many hep C viruses as the given number says. Therefore the given number denotes ‘viral equivalents’ (abbreviated: eq ).
How to tell if a virus is still active?
In order to find out, whether the virus is still active in your body, a different test has to be made: The presence of the virus has to be detected directly. For this purpose there are two types of tests available, the qualitative PCR test or a quantitative test.
When you get back the result of your HCV RNA quantitative test, and when the lab was able to determine
When you get back the result of your HCV RNA quantitative test, and when the lab was able to determine the amount of virus in your blood, then it is important to write down not only the number , but also in what units this number is given.
Does IU have a viral load?
Giving the viral load in IU probably soon will replace all other ways to express the viral load – until recently it was expressed most frequently in eq or Meq. But at the moment and in old lab reports a wide variety of ways to give the viral load still can be found.
Is There a Correlation Between HCV Viral Load and Severity of Liver Disease?
The significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) serum titers (HCV viral load) has been examined in several clinical situations. There is much evidence that patients with a lower viral load have better response rates to anti-viral therapy compared to those with higher levels.
Conclusion
The authors conclude, “Our results indicate that the severity of liver disease is independent of serum levels of hepatitis C virus.
