The hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects the liver but the disease is usually asymptomatic during the early stages of the infection. Therefore, hepatitis C is rarely detected during the first six months of infection. About 60 to 70 percent of people with hepatitis C have no symptoms and those who do suffer some symptoms only experience minor inconveniences that are even nonspecific, such as jaundice, abdominal pain, influenza-like symptoms, and itching.
Transmission of the disease is possible through sexual contact but there are other potential sources of HCV exposure. These include drug injection, organ transplantation, blood transfusion, occupations that normally expose people to blood, the use of dental or medical equipment that have not been properly sterilized, contact sports, tattoos and body piercings, and the sharing of personal items such as toothbrushes, cuticle scissors and razors.
The diagnosis for hepatitis C is usually made through blood tests. People who feel that they have been exposed to the disease are advised to specifically ask for HCV blood tests because the tests conducted during annual physical exams do not normally check for HCV. When you inform your physician about the possibility that you have been exposed to the virus, he may perform the tests himself or refer you to a hepatologist or a gastroenterologist.
A common HCV test is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This kind of test is capable of detecting the presence of HCV antibodies. On the other hand, the HCV RNA test will try to find out if there are any particles of HCV in the blood. These two tests have been found to be very sensitive and the possibility for false positives or false negatives is very rare. A liver biopsy or a liver enzyme test may also be performed to determine if there is any indication of damage to the liver. These procedures will assist the physician in evaluating the severity of the disease in a person. And if a person is positive for HCV, he may also undergo a genotyping blood test to find out the kind of HCV that has infected him. This is vital in choosing the effective treatment for the patient.