Fw: Viral Load

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I got this info from WebMD. Viral load is not a predictor of disease in Hep C. That is best done with biopsy or FibroScan or Fibrosure. Viral load varies even from hour to hour. It is used in conjunction with treatment to predict the success of the treatment. What Is a High Viral Load and Low Viral Load?Dr. Pearlman: Anything over 800,000 IU/mL is high. Anything under that is low viral load … Those

with low viral load have a better chance of responding to treatment.Am I Getting Sicker if My Viral Load Is Rising?Dr. Anania: Not necessarily. With HCV, viral burden in hepatitis C does not necessarily predict the natural history of clinical disease. And therefore, patients need to understand that we use that measurement to help us guide therapy and response to therapy. We use it in conjunction with other types of laboratory data -- liver enzymes, liver biopsies sometimes, and viral genotype. Taken all together, these tests give us a snapshot of what is going on. But viral load numbers do not predict disease.Dr. Pearlman: Unlike HIV, HCV viral copies do not directly affect a patient's prognosis and how fast disease is progressing in the liver. Remember, we are measuring blood levels, not what is happening in liver cells. HIV viral load does have a lot to do with quicker progression to AIDS. But HCV viral

load does not tell you how fast hepatitis is progressing.