Table of contents:
- What is viral load?
- When is a viral load test needed?
- Who should take a viral load test?
- What does negative or "undetectable" mean?
- What does a "positive viral load" mean?
If you are undergoing treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, your doctor will monitor your viral load through a viral load test. Viral load is the amount of a certain virus found in the blood. The following is a further explanation about hepatitis viral load.
What is viral load?
Hepatitis viral load is the number of hepatitis virus particles floating in per 1 ml / 1cc blood volume. Some of these virus particles are copies of the viral genetic material that circulate throughout the body. The amount of virus in the blood can vary between each infected person, but this is not a helpful prognostic indicator and does not measure the severity of viral liver disease. The viral load test can be used to monitor the success rate of hepatitis treatment and guide future health care decisions.
When is a viral load test needed?
Once you start treatment, your doctor will order follow-up tests to evaluate your current treatment. In addition, there is no need for retesting because viral load does not provide information about symptoms and liver function. Other liver tests, such as a biopsy, can provide this information.
Who should take a viral load test?
Some groups who are more susceptible to becoming infected with HCV, for example:
- Dialysis patients (dialysis)
- Children born to HCV positive mothers
- People who may have been in contact with the blood of someone who is infected with hepatitis C
What does negative or "undetectable" mean?
Viral loads can range from "undetectable" to hundreds of millions. The term "undetectable" sometimes means different things from the term "negative," depending on the test used. If you are "negative," there may not be hepatitis C virus in your blood. However, you may also have hepatitis C virus in your blood, but the virus count is lower than the detection limit of the test, so it is called "undetectable." Your doctor can tell you what tests to use and explain what they mean to you. In fact, a viral load of less than 615 IU / L (international units per liter) means no hepatitis C virus has been detected, or the count is too low to detect. In addition, a viral load of more than 800,000 IU / L is considered high and less than 800,000 IU / L is considered low.
What does a "positive viral load" mean?
If the results from your quantitative HCV RNA test are positive, and the lab is able to determine the amount of virus in your blood, it is important to record not only the viral count but also the accompanying units. In some other infections, the higher the viral load, the worse your disease is, but this is not the case in hepatitis C. The viral load in hepatitis C has nothing to do with the severity of your disease. However, viral load shows how effective your treatment is. The lower your viral load, the higher the chances of your treatment being successful. Viral load is based on technology that makes it possible to measure the smallest amount of hepatitis C virus RNA, the building block of the virus. Different laboratories may use different standards for counting copies of HCV RNA. Consult your doctor to find out exactly what your test results mean. Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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