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Hepatitis Screening

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  • 07-10-2009 3:27pm
    #1
    Delancey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,451 ✭✭✭


    If a blood screen for Hepatitis A , B and C comes back as negative is it accurate to say the patient has never had Hepatitis or do the antibodies 'fade' over time ?


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    #2
    DrIndy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,461 ✭✭✭DrIndy


    antibodies don't fade over time in general - as the B cells are ready to act against a new infection when it pops up - but sometimes lab assays for this can very rarely give a false negative.

    There are many, many different forms of hepatitis which is simply inflammation of the liver - Hepatitis A/B/C are only a small component of infections which can cause hepatitis and there are innumerable toxic and drug causes never mind autoimmune reasons for this.


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    #3
    Delancey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,451 ✭✭✭Delancey


    DrIndy wrote: »
    antibodies don't fade over time in general - as the B cells are ready to act against a new infection when it pops up - but sometimes lab assays for this can very rarely give a false negative.

    There are many, many different forms of hepatitis which is simply inflammation of the liver - Hepatitis A/B/C are only a small component of infections which can cause hepatitis and there are innumerable toxic and drug causes never mind autoimmune reasons for this.

    Thanks for the reply , so one cannot definitively say they never had hepatitis just because their screen is negative ?

    Thanks again


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    #4
    DrIndy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,461 ✭✭✭DrIndy


    if the entire screen is negative then they have no antibodies at all to hepatitis and are negative.

    The chances of this being wrong are tiny and down to the miniscule error rate of the analyser.

    If you have ongoing concerns - its best to address them with the doctor who ordered the tests and they can give you much more information on this.


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    #5
    Delancey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,451 ✭✭✭Delancey


    DrIndy wrote: »
    if the entire screen is negative then they have no antibodies at all to hepatitis and are negative.

    The chances of this being wrong are tiny and down to the miniscule error rate of the analyser.

    If you have ongoing concerns - its best to address them with the doctor who ordered the tests and they can give you much more information on this.

    Many thanks for the reply Dr. Indy , you've answered my question fine - no need to bother GP this time, Thanks again


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