第一个测试医生通常是丙型肝炎抗体测试。

Your immune system makes special proteins when harmful foreign microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses enter your body. These special proteins are called antibodies. The human body makes millions of different antibodies. Each one is tailored to fight a particular microorganism you’ve been exposed to.

The antibodies try to neutralize or destroy the foreign invader before it can do harm. Hepatitis C antibodies are made by white blood cells and attack only the hepatitis C virus. They bind to the virus and set it up for attack by other parts of the immune system.

丙型肝炎抗体测试是一种血液检查，该血液中寻找丙型肝炎抗体。积极的结果通常意味着您已经暴露于丙型肝炎病毒。积极的结果偶尔可能是false positive。

A negative result means that no antibodies have been detected in your bloodstream. This could indicate that there is no infection or you were exposed so recently that not enough antibodies have built up yet to be detectable. Or it could be a false negative.

It’s also possible to get an indeterminate result from this test.

If you’re in a high-risk group but tested negative, your doctor may have you repeat the test to make sure it wasn’t a false negative. If you test positive but your doctor thinks it’s unlikely that you have hepatitis C, they may have you repeat the test as well.

血液中的丙型肝炎抗体仅表明您一次感染。它不会告诉您的医生感染当前是否处于活动状态。

Hepatitis Cis a virus that attacks the human liver. It causes damage and, over time, destroys the liver by killing off healthy cells. The virus leaves tough scar tissue behind which keeps the liver from working properly.

有几项检查医生下令检查丙型肝炎病毒的测试。它越早被捕获和治疗，病毒对您的肝脏造成的损害就越少。您的肝脏具有许多重要功能，包括：

  • 从血液中过滤毒素
  • 加工糖，胆固醇和铁
  • producing bile to help digest food

根据疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的数据，被丙型肝炎病毒感染的人中，大约有15％至25％的人从其体内清除了它。其他人会发展肝脏疤痕。没有治疗，这可以发展到cirrhosis(a state where the liver is so scarred it can barely function),肝衰竭， 或者liver cancer随着时间的推移。

可以使用可以帮助许多丙型肝炎患者的治疗方法，因此，如果您有可能接触过该病毒，则必须进行测试。

If hepatitis C antibodies are found in your bloodstream, your doctor will order an RNA test to find out whether the infection is active. If it is, a genotyping test will pinpoint what type of hepatitis C you have.

RNA tests

为了判断您是否有活跃的感染，您的医生将订购丙型肝炎RNA定量测试。This test looks for viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) inside the virus cells in your bloodstream. You have an active hepatitis C infection if the test finds viral RNA.

相同的测试测量治疗前后血液中病毒RNA的量。它用于确定您的治疗方法的工作状况。

基因分型测试

有六种类型的丙型肝炎。每种类型，或基因型，代表细胞内基因的特定组合。丙型肝炎基因分型测试表明，必须治疗哪种丙型肝炎的基因型。

Genotype 1 is the most common genotype, according to the CDC. About 70 to 75 percent of people who have hepatitis C have genotype 1.

基因型2占丙型肝炎的人中的13％至15％。大约10％的基因型3。基因型4、5和6很少见。

Each hepatitis C genotype represents a genetically distinct group of the virus. Each responds differently to treatment. Doctors tailor your treatment to match the genotype of the virus. This helps to predict how long your treatment should last and what your outcome should be.

丙型肝炎具有传染性，但只能通过性接触或通过粘膜通过性接触或血液接触传递给他人。您无法从以下任何一项中获得丙型肝炎：

  • sharing eating utensils
  • breastfeeding
  • 拥抱，亲吻或牵着手
  • 咳嗽或打喷嚏
  • through food or water

You should be tested for hepatitis C if you:

  • 使用针注射药物或共用药物设备
  • 在1992年之前进行了输血或器官移植或1987年之前的凝血因子
  • 是一名医疗保健工作者，患有针头损伤
  • have tattoos or body piercings done in unclean settings (with unsterilized instruments)
  • 现在或过去有性伴侣与丙型肝炎有性伴侣（最近的一项研究表明，这种方式很少能这种乙型肝炎。）
  • were born to a mother who has hepatitis C

确保接受测试at risk对于丙型肝炎。症状在疾病的早期阶段非常温和。您可能根本没有症状。美国预防服务工作队还建议对1945年至1965年之间出生的成年人进行丙型肝炎筛查（“婴儿潮一代”）。