My mom tested positive for Hepatitis C antibodies. 2 y.a., got blood test, no Hep. C. No drugs, tatoos.. Why?

Question

Two years ago, her insurance did a blood test and found nothing wrong. Now, she was tested and they found traces of the Hepatitis C antibody. She doesnt cheat, doesnt do drugs or anything else. There is no way she could have got it. Could the test result be a false positive?

Answer 1

Your mom needs to find out if she has active, chronic hepatitis C. She will need to have a blood test called a PCR. It's a viral load test which will look for active virus in the blood. It should be done six months from when she was last tested, as there is an incubation period. It is not transferred sexually (unless it was rough sex with bleeding on both parties, or anal sex, etc). It is also NOT transferred by poor hygiene. There is a lot of misinformation out there about hep c. Please have your mom get the viral load test to be sure. Best wishes.

Answer 2

Hepatitis C is not spread by food or poor hygiene, so please disregard those answers. It rarely if ever is spread by sex (only if there is an exchange of blood during sex with an infected person). Hep C is spread when infected blood gets into someone's bloodstream.

Your mom may have been exposed to the virus some time when she made contact with an infected person's blood. It might have been something as minor as a manicure, a piece of broken glass on a sidewalk or a splinter on a picnic table. You may never know where and when she was exposed.

If she has antibodies, she has been exposed to the disease and her body created antibodies to fight it. The next step is to test her blood for the live virus.

Hepatitis C is a serious disease, but you and your mother should know that it is not a death sentence. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the mortality rate is 1% to 5%.

Answer 3

food, someone had it and passed it on bad hygiene. did dad cheat? find more info here.

http://search.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/query?FUNCTION=search&PARAMETER=hep+c&DISAMBIGUATION=true&SERVER1=server1&SERVER2=server2&START=0&END=25&MAX=500&ASPECT=3

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

Frequently Asked Questions About Hepatitis C

Diagnosis and testing

What is hepatitis C?
Is there a vaccine for the prevention of HCV infection?
What blood tests are available to check for hepatitis C?
Can you have a "false positive" anti-HCV test result?
Can you have a "false negative" anti-HCV test result?
How long after exposure to HCV does it take to test positive for anti-HCV ?
How long after exposure to HCV does it take to test positive with PCR?
Who should get tested for hepatitis C?
What is the next step if you have a confirmed positive anti-HCV test?
Can you have a normal liver enzyme (e.g., ALT) level and still have chronic hepatitis C?
Can I donate blood if I have had any type of viral hepatitis?

How is HCV spread from one person to another?

How could a person have gotten hepatitis C?
How long can HCV live outside the body and transmit infection?
What do you use to remove HCV from environmental surfaces?
Is there any evidence that HCV has been spread during medical or dental procedures done in the United States?
Can HCV be spread by sexual activity?
Can HCV be spread by oral sex?
Can HCV be spread within a household?
Can you get hepatitis C from getting a tattoo?
Since more advanced tests have been developed for use in blood banks, what is the chance now that a person can get HCV infection from transfused blood or blood products?
Is it possible that HCV could be transmitted through the bite of a mosquito or other blood sucking arthropods, especially in third world countries?

Pregnancy and Breast feeding

Should pregnant women be routinely tested for anti-HCV?
What is the risk that HCV infected women will spread HCV to their newborn infants?
Is there a greater risk of perinatal HCV transmission if the mother is coinfected with HIV?
Should a woman with hepatitis C be advised against breast-feeding?
When should babies born to mothers with hepatitis C be tested to see if they were infected at birth?

Answer 4

I suppose the test result could be a false positive.

Answer 5

You can contract Hep C from pretty much anything, as long as you're in the right spot at the wrong time or vice versa.

Answer 6

I doubt if this can be a false positive result as you call it.You cant determine how your mom may have contracted it,she may have eaten somewhere where the hygiene is bad,or, if she has a spouse,he may have picked it up somewhere and transmitted it to her unknowingly.Instead of trying to find who is responsible,its best that she soughts out expert medical advice.Whats done is done.(although if she has a spouse,he wants to get checked out)

Answer 7

did she have sex with pamela anderson?