How long can hep C lie dormant?
That delay between infection and onset is typical of hepatitis C, which can lie dormant in the body for decades. Her doctor, Douglas Dieterich, MD, a liver specialist at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai says untreated, the virus will eventually attack and ultimately destroy the liver.
What are the chances of hep C coming back after treatment?
The recurrence rate of Hepatitis C in patients who are free of the virus at six months after treatment is extremely low (may be 1% or 2 %). So for the majority (more than 95%) of patients successfully treated, they can consider themselves essentially cured.
Is 0.1 positive for hep C?
Persons recommended for hepatitis C testing. Universal hepatitis C screening: Hepatitis C screening at least once in a lifetime for all adults aged ≥18 years, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA-positivity) is <0.1%
How did I find out I had Hep C?
OPINION: “Your results are positive. You have Hepatitis C,” my doctor said. She then told me other medical stuff on that phone call but by then I’d gone straight to gobsmacked. A fairly reasonable “who me?” reaction had set in. Greg Jackson with first grandchild.
Can a person have Hep C for 40 years?
The medicos who are not prone to romancing pathology call Hep C the “sleeping dragon”. You can have it ticking away in your liver for nearly 40 years like I did and then get sick enough to present with cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. None of my liver tests over the years had triggered the alarm bells.
What happens to your body when you have Hep C?
This is a viral infection that affects the liver. It can cause you to be mildly sick for weeks or months. But even after you feel better, the virus can stay inside your body. It can slowly harm your liver over many years. OPINION: “Your results are positive. You have Hepatitis C,” my doctor said.
Who was the rock star that had hepatitis C?
A fairly reasonable “who me?” reaction had set in. Greg Jackson with first grandchild. Shock, awe and the awareness that this was the disease that had taken out my rock and roll idols like David Bowie and Lou Reed.
Can You Still get Hep C after treatment?
After a successful course of treatment for hepatitis C, the hepatitis C antibody remains detectable, but the hepatitis C RNA will be undetectable. Any patient with a positive test result for the hepatitis C antibody should have additional tests to determine whether or not the virus is still active.
OPINION: “Your results are positive. You have Hepatitis C,” my doctor said. She then told me other medical stuff on that phone call but by then I’d gone straight to gobsmacked. A fairly reasonable “who me?” reaction had set in. Greg Jackson with first grandchild.
What does it mean when your hepatitis C test comes back positive?
The results will come back as either positive or negative. If this test result is positive, it means your body was exposed to the hepatitis C virus and made antibodies (for more information, see “Antibody” section under Associated Lab Tests). However, it does not tell you whether you are still infected with hepatitis C.
This is a viral infection that affects the liver. It can cause you to be mildly sick for weeks or months. But even after you feel better, the virus can stay inside your body. It can slowly harm your liver over many years. OPINION: “Your results are positive. You have Hepatitis C,” my doctor said.