How is hepatitis C diagnosed?
The incubation period after exposure to HCV has a range of 15-150 days (average 50 days). Within 3 months following exposure to the virus, 90% of the infected people will have detectable antibodies. Within the average of 50 days, almost all patients develop liver cell injury which is indicated by elevated serum blood levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT).Individuals infected with HCV are often unaware of the illness because most of the time they do not have specific symptoms, e.g., loss of appetite, abdominal pain or malaise. They are often found to have elevated liver enzymes on a routine blood test (i.e., ALT test). Others test positive for hepatitis C antibody during a blood donation. A more specific hepatitis C antibody test with a low false positive rate has been available since 1992. In general, elevated liver enzymes and a positive HCV antibody test indicate that an individual has chronic hepatitis C.
