What does a positive hepatitis C antibody mean

Many friends think they have hepatitis C when they see the report saying that the hepatitis C antibody is positive. In fact, this is not the way to think. A positive hepatitis C antibody test does not necessarily mean that you are infected with hepatitis C. Further testing may be required because some hepatitis C antibodies are false positives.

1. Hepatitis C antibody is the hepatitis C surface antibody. Hepatitis C antibody is not a protective antibody. A positive hepatitis C antibody means that there is hepatitis C antibody in the body, and there is a high possibility that hepatitis C virus exists in the body. A positive hepatitis C antibody does not necessarily mean that the person is infected with the hepatitis C virus, and there are many false positives among hepatitis C antibody positives.

2. The possibility of positive hepatitis C antibody test is that you have received the transfusion of foreign blood products containing hepatitis C antibodies. After the transfusion, the hepatitis C antibody will be quickly detected as positive, but as time goes by, the foreign hepatitis C antibodies will become less and less. It may even disappear in a few months.

3. The reason for a positive hepatitis C antibody may also be that after the hepatitis C virus invades the human body, the body's immune system has a natural response and produces hepatitis C antibodies. If the patients test positive for hepatitis C antibodies, they should go to a regular hospital for testing of hepatitis C virus genetic material. If there is hepatitis C virus genetic material, it means that the virus is present in the body. If not, it means there is no virus.

4. A positive hepatitis C antibody does not necessarily mean that you have hepatitis C. Many people have certain misunderstandings about this. In this regard, liver disease experts remind that if you want to know whether you are infected with hepatitis C virus, the most important way is to check whether there is hepatitis C virus in your blood.