Hepatitis C Results: Both Positive & Negative. What's going on?

Question

A friend of mine recently donated blood to the Red Cross, and received a letter following her donation, asking her to no longer donate. They explained she tested positive for Hep C, but upon running additional tests, she came back negative.

She wasn't too concerned, since the only exposure she could have had was if the needle used to donate was contaminated. She hasn't exposed herself to the other risk factors for Hep C.

Well, she is about 6-7 weeks pregnant now, and the doctor just called her to come back in for additional testing, because she tested positive on their initial tests. She had explained the situation about the Red Cross results during her first prenatal appt, which is why they ran the tests.

I've found a couple sites with FAQs on conflicting results online, but nothing is incredibly detailed when it comes to this. Obviously, she's very concerned for her baby and herself, not to mention confused.

Can anyone shed some light on this? What's going on?

Thank you for the answers so far! Yes, apparently Red Cross performed a quick initial test that came back positive, but a negative result was returned upon more in-depth testing through the Red Cross (although they did not specify what type of testing).

We do not know what kind of test her OB/GYN's office ran that produced the positive, but she's obviously hoping it was a quick one, and the in-depth one she has to go back for will return a negative result, as it did for the Red Cross.

She was just wondering why it kept happening, and if it should raise concern. She's never used needles, hasn't been in a situation where she would have blood to blood contact with someone infected, and has had only one sexual partner in the last 5+ years (who is negative, and faithful). Obviously, logic would lead us to assume it's just those quick tests that are producing false-negatives, but she doesn't want to blow it off if she should be more concerned.

Answer 1

It is possible for this to happen. The Red Cross checks for the antibody for Hepatitis C. There are 2 things that could have happened in this situation. 1. She had Hep C in the past, but her body cleared it on its own. This can happen is a small percentage of people, but most commonly happens in young females. 2. She was never positive and she has another protein in her body that mimicked the Hep C antibody making the first test + when it was really negative. What she should have done now is a Hep C RNA level. This actually detect the presence of the virus. This will confirm if she has or does not have Hep C. The other thing that can be done is called a Hep C RIBA test. This can tell your friend if she was ever positive or if it was a false positive.

Answer 2

A blood test would be more accurate. It will show you are pregnant 7 days after conception. Go and see your doctor. 8. The positive line is really faint. Is this okay? An HPT tells you exactly one thing: your urine either has detectable pregnancy hormone in it, or it doesn't. The darkness or lightness of a line doesn't mean much. Generally speaking, a very light line can mean there is a small amount of hCG in your urine, and a very dark line can mean there is a larger amount of hCG in your urine. This is why you may get a faint positive at 10 DPO but a darker positive at 18 DPO. However, this is not always true. Tests are all different, and even tests in the same box may differ in sensitivity. Comparing light/dark lines will just drive you nuts. If you see a line in the "results" window, you're preg! 9. I took another test and the line is lighter. Does this mean anything? Should it get darker? Not necessarily. In general, the positive line will be darker when a greater amount of hCG is present in the urine, but not always. Some tests contain more or less dye (meaning there is just more or less color to "stick" to your hCG.) Some tests are more or less sensitive-- even 2 tests in the same box can be different. Also, your urine may have more or less hCG in it depending on what you ate or drank, or how long it's been since you last peed. Food itself does not cause false results, but can affect how much urine you have and how dilute it is. Eating salty chips and drinking caffeine all day will result in more concentrated pee, whereas gorging on watermelon and ginger ale will result in lots of very dilute pee. But an HPT is not meant to tell you "how" pregnant you are. It only tells you if you are pregnant or not. As long as there is a line in the results window, you are pregnant. Some women experiencing early miscarriages do notice their lines getting fainter or disappearing entirely, but even if your line gets fainter, it is not a guarantee that you are miscarrying, or that anything is wrong. See FAQ 21 for normal levels of hCG and how to properly measure it. 10. I took several tests and got both negatives and positives. What gives? See FAQ 9 above; there are many variables-- concentration of urine, sensitivity of the test. Since true false positives are pretty rare, if you get at least one positive HPT, you are probably pregnant. Wait a couple of days and test again or try another brand if you are suspect. If you suspect you have a true false positive (meaning you did not conceive and still got a positive), please share with us so we can let other women know about that brand! Good luck

Answer 3

Obviously the first test done was a screening test and the rest of the tests are confirmatory tests. Screening tests are tests that crudely screen patients whether they are positive or not ( there are several interfering substances in this particular method). It is just like classifying people whether they are male (positive) or female (negative). The confirmatory test on the other hand, is a more specific test for Hepa. This method will give positive results only when that particular hep virus is definitely present in the patient's sample, and will not be affected by any other types. ( like classifying people whether they are male or female and after that classifying the male (positive) where they came from.)

I suggest a third confirmatory test. ( emphasise that you want a confirmatory method). Let your friend be tested again using more specific methods , to put the matter to rest. Surely a third opinion will be valuable.

Answer 4

One is wrong

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne, infectious, viral disease that is caused by a hepatotropic virus called Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection can cause liver inflammation that is often asymptomatic, but ensuing chronic hepatitis can result later in cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. An estimated 150-200 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C. It is the leading cause of liver transplant in the United States.

The hepatitis C virus is one of six known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, E, G

Answer 5

If she had the second test done by a physicians office and they sent it to a lab for testing that is the one I would go with.....at blood drives they use a quick scan machine that often comes up with false positives........if she takes another test and she comes back negative...she is negative

Answer 6

I'd be confused too. I hope this answers some of your questions:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/faq.htm