How do you get hep C positive?
The hepatitis C virus is usually spread when someone comes into contact with blood from an infected person. This can happen through: â–ºSharing drug-injection equipment. Today, most people become infected with hepatitis C by sharing needles, syringes, or any other equipment used to prepare and inject drugs.
Does Hep C ever go away?
Most people who are infected with hepatitis C don’t experience any symptoms for years. However, hepatitis C usually is a chronic illness (which means it doesn’t go away on its own).
Can hep C go away by itself?
Can hepatitis C go away on its own? Yes. From 15% to 20% of people with hep C clear it from their bodies without treatment. It’s more likely to happen in women and people who have symptoms.
How do you feel when you have hep C?
Acute hepatitis C usually goes undiagnosed because it rarely causes symptoms. When signs and symptoms are present, they may include jaundice, along with fatigue, nausea, fever and muscle aches. Acute symptoms appear one to three months after exposure to the virus and last two weeks to three months.
What does it mean to get a false positive for hepatitis C?
A positive ELISA test doesn’t necessarily mean you have hepatitis C . Antibodies picked up by the test may have been triggered by an infection other than HCV, leading to a positive result. This phenomenon is known as cross-reactivity, and it often results in a false positive.
Is it possible to get a false positive for hepatitis C?
People who have recovered from hepatitis C on their own may also get a false-positive ELISA test result. In rare cases , lab error leads to a false positive . False-positive results may also occur in newborns who carry HCV antibodies from their mothers.
How contagious is Hep C?
Persons with acute hepatitis C virus infection are generally contagious from one or more weeks before the onset of symptoms. The contagious period is indefinite in chronically infected persons. All persons who test positive should be considered to be potentially contagious.
What is the prognosis for hepatitis C?
Though hepatitis C begins as an acute infection lasting just a few weeks, for 70 to 85 percent of people infected, the hepatitis C prognosis is for a chronic condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. The virus will stay in the body and continue to attack the liver.