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Had Hep C 5 Yrs Back, Took Vaccination. Should I Check Again ?
my name is AAAA and i am government emply. 5 year ago i had hepatitic c. then i did my all test lioke pcr qualitative and in that test result are activate. so i did my veccination and afyer that result was non detect. now 3 years hasbeen gone. do plz tell me should i check again or test again pcr qualitative..........?
Thu, 13 Sep 2012
Hi
Hepatitis C usually causes chronic infection and only in a few cases presents as acute infection.
It is detected in serum by PCR within 2 months following exposure , which is the first indication of infection. Patients have excellent response to six months of standard therapy with interferon injections with oral ribavirin especially in acute cases. In some cases patients however recover spontaneously without treatment.
Till date there is no vaccine available for hepatitis c . It is only in the process of research.
It is very important to check for co-infection with Hepatitis B and HIV .
You do have to follow up with HCV PCR especially six months after completion of treatment.
For you it has been 3 yrs now but you can check again .
Investigation suggested: 1. PCR for HCV RNA
2. Liver function test
Thanks.
Hepatitis C usually causes chronic infection and only in a few cases presents as acute infection.
It is detected in serum by PCR within 2 months following exposure , which is the first indication of infection. Patients have excellent response to six months of standard therapy with interferon injections with oral ribavirin especially in acute cases. In some cases patients however recover spontaneously without treatment.
Till date there is no vaccine available for hepatitis c . It is only in the process of research.
It is very important to check for co-infection with Hepatitis B and HIV .
You do have to follow up with HCV PCR especially six months after completion of treatment.
For you it has been 3 yrs now but you can check again .
Investigation suggested: 1. PCR for HCV RNA
2. Liver function test
Thanks.
I find this answer helpful
Hi Maham,
Hepatitis C doesn't have vaccine. You must have been given injections like peginterferon which reduce the viral load. If you have been cleared from the virus after the medications. We generally repeat a viral load (PCR) , 24 weeks after completing therapy. If no virus is detected 24 weeks (6 months) after therapy then the chances of you having a recurrence is very less. I assume you were negative at 24 weeks after competing therapy. If you have not been tested at that time then I recommend you to go for a repeat testing else it is not required.
Hope this helps
Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani
Hepatitis C doesn't have vaccine. You must have been given injections like peginterferon which reduce the viral load. If you have been cleared from the virus after the medications. We generally repeat a viral load (PCR) , 24 weeks after completing therapy. If no virus is detected 24 weeks (6 months) after therapy then the chances of you having a recurrence is very less. I assume you were negative at 24 weeks after competing therapy. If you have not been tested at that time then I recommend you to go for a repeat testing else it is not required.
Hope this helps
Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani
I find this answer helpful
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