Hepatitis C Virus Antibody

Hepatitis C antibodies show whether your body has ever responded to a hepatitis C infection, helping to identify past or current exposure.

📋 About This Biomarker

Hepatitis C antibodies are proteins that your immune system produces in response to the hepatitis C virus (HCV). They act like your body’s internal alarm system, signalling that it has encountered the virus. This test doesn’t look for the virus itself - it looks for the body’s reaction to it. If these antibodies are present, it means you have been exposed to HCV at some point, even if your body has cleared it or the infection isn’t currently active. Think of this as a memory marker - your immune system remembers the invader and leaves a trace. Further testing is often needed to check if the virus is still in your system and whether it’s causing harm to the liver.

🎯 Why We Test This

Testing for hepatitis C antibodies helps identify if you’ve ever been exposed to the hepatitis C virus. It’s an important screening tool for early detection, even if you don’t feel sick, because hepatitis C often causes silent damage to the liver over time. It’s especially useful for those who’ve had blood transfusions before the 1990s, use(d) injected drugs, or have other risk factors. Early diagnosis leads to better outcomes with effective treatments now available.

⚠️ What Affects It

Hepatitis C antibody levels can be affected by recent or past infection with HCV, whether or not your body cleared the virus, or if you were successfully treated. False positives (showing antibodies when no infection exists) can also happen due to autoimmune conditions, recent vaccinations, or other viral infections. A person’s immune response, which can vary with age, immune system strength, or other infections, may also influence whether antibodies are detectable.

📈 How to Improve

If antibodies are detected (positive result), follow-up tests will determine if you still carry the virus. If active infection is found, antiviral treatment can clear the virus in most cases. There’s no way to "reduce" the antibodies themselves, but treating the infection and monitoring liver health are key. If results are borderline or close to positive, repeating the test and doing confirmatory testing is essential. Preventing exposure in the future - through safe practices and vaccination (for hepatitis A and B, not C) - helps maintain liver and overall health.

📊 Understanding Your Results

Low
A clearly negative result means there are no detectable antibodies, which usually means no prior contact with the virus. However, if someone was very recently infected, it may be too soon for the antibodies to appear, which is why healthcare providers may suggest repeat testing after a few months.
Optimal
A negative result generally means that you haven’t been exposed to HCV, or it’s too early in the infection for antibodies to be detectable. This usually suggests there is no current or past infection, but if there’s a high chance of recent exposure (like through a blood transfusion, tattoo, or unprotected sex with someone infected), it may still be worth retesting after a few weeks. A clearly negative result means there are no detectable antibodies, which usually means no prior contact with the virus. However, if someone was very recently infected, it may be too soon for the antibodies to appear, which is why healthcare providers may suggest repeat testing after a few months.
High
A positive result - meaning antibodies are present - suggests that you’ve been exposed to the hepatitis C virus at some point. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re still infected, but it does warrant follow-up testing (like an HCV RNA test) to see if the virus is still active in your blood. If active, it could be causing ongoing liver damage, which can lead to serious conditions like liver scarring (cirrhosis) or liver cancer over time.
Also known as: HepC Ab