Hepatitis C Antibody (HCV Ab)

Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus which mainly attacks the liver. It can be spread by blood to blood contact in a variety of ways. This may be, but is not limited to, sharing drug using paraphernalia, particularly needles and syringes. The virus is highly infectious and has been shown to survive for up to three months outside the body.

There may be no obvious symptoms of infection. On infection, a person may experience flu-like symptoms, but the disease may be undetected for years and cause damage to the liver. Untreated, Hepatitis C can lead to serious complications including cirrhosis of the liver. Eventually this can mean liver failure. The carrier will also be infectious to others. Although there is no guaranteed cure, treatment is successful in a percentage of cases. Therefore, it is important to screen and educate those most at risk of infection. Screening for Hepatitis C can demonstrate exposure to the virus.

ScreenSafe UK is proud to be the exclusive UK supplier of a choice of new and innovative Blood Borne Virus rapid testing cassettes including the first point of care device to be CE marked for the detection of Hepatitis C Antibody giving a result in minutes.

A negative result indicates no current or previous exposure to Hepatitis C virus. Due to the time taken for the virus to spread, sufficiently to be detected, a further screen may be appropriate in a few months, to rule out any potential missed positives. This is common practice for any method of Hepatitis C testing.

A non-negative result indicates possible previous exposure to Hepatitis C, or current infection. A further confirmatory blood sample should be taken and sent off for laboratory investigation.

Other Considerations

Testing for Blood Borne Viruses can create serious implications for those being tested. There is possibly lifestyle, psychological and social challenges ahead. For this reason testers may need to consider:

  1. Confidentiality and testing environment.
  2. Pre and post test advisory discussions.
  3. Pathways for the referral of non-negative donors.
  4. Supporting literature.
  5. A screening protocol.
  6. Support agency contact details.

ScreenSafe UK's team are keen to ensure that you are confident in the use of all our testing devices, and tuition/training is all part of the service. To find out more about ScreenSafe UK Blood Borne Virus testing, then please contact our friendly and professional customer service team on 08450 505590 or via email (enquiries@screensafeuk.co.uk). All enquiries are strictly confidential.

TestRite™ BBV Leaflet