Hello Dr. McGovern,

I recently tested myself for Hepatitis A,B & C. The results said that I am immune to Hepatitis A & B thanks to the vaccinations that I received when I was young. However, regarding Hepatitis C the result says "Finding equivocal for HCV infection. A follow up specimen of EDTA blood is requested to test for HCV RNA by qualitative RT-PCR to define status of HCV infection."

To me it sounds like the test can not tell if I am infected with HCV and therefore, I require a further test (HCV RNA).

My quetions are

1) Is it common for a person to get such result ("finding equivocal for HCV infection")? What are the odds that a person is found to be positive to HCV infection in the HCV RNA test given that the first test result is "equivocal"?

2) My spouse has chronic HBV? Does she also need to test if she has HCV?

Thank you.

It is not common to get this kind of test result but it can happen. It is important to get follow-up hepatitis C testing to confirm your status. The result will really depend on whether you have risks or not. If not, it is probably a false positive test.

Yes, your spouse should definitely have testing for HCV - but I suspect that has been done in the past.

You should also have period monitoring of your hepatitis B surface antibodies and get booster shots from time to time to protect you against HBV infection if your spouse has chronic HBV.