Hepatitis C virus Test

The HCV antibody test is sometimes called the anti-HCV test. This test finds out if someone has ever been infected with the hepatitis C virus.ALso, it looks for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus in blood.The purpose of hepatitis C testing is to determine if a person has been infected by the hepatitis C virus, to evaluate a current or past infection, and to guide a patient’s treatment.

Long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus is known as chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is usually a “silent” infection for many years, until the virus damages the liver enough to cause the signs and symptoms of liver disease.

Signs and symptoms include:

• Bleeding easily
• Bruising easily
• Fatigue
• Poor appetite
• Yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Dark-colored urine
• Itchy skin
• Fluid buildup in your abdomen (ascites)
• Swelling in your legs
• Weight loss
• Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)
• Spiderlike blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas