Re: What is Viral Load Exactly

[Guest guest]

I have Kaiser now, too, good to know I won't have to get up off

that biopsy table and walk away, lol, thanks.I would not be overly concerned with viral load if you are not yet on

treatment. There are many, many things that can cause it to fluctuate..

Sheena

HI all....I got some test results back today. My viral load went from 840000 to 1710000 from Sept to Dec. What does that mean? Why is it going up? I have been told that the numbers aren't important. They have to mean something.Also I have Kaiser for my insurance. So far they have been good. I think. They, at least, did sedate me for my biopsy! Anyone else with Kaiser?Thanks for any info.

[Guest guest]

>Thanks Sheena...I have only been on treatment for one week.

I would not be overly concerned with viral load if you are not yet on

> treatment. There are many, many things that can cause it to

fluctuate..

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> Sheena

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[Guest guest]

This is from WebMD...Debbie-Hepatitis Health Center .Font SizeA A A

Hepatitis C (HCV) and Viral Load Questions and Answers

If you're being treated for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, your

doctor is keeping track of your viral load.

What is HCV viral load? Why does it matter? WebMD got answers to your

most frequently asked questions from two experts:

Anania, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of

hepatology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

L. Pearlman, MD, medical director of the center for hepatitis C

at the Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta; and associate professor,

Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

What is HCV viral load

Dr. Pearlman:Viral load is [the number of] viral particles floating

in the blood. These are copies of the genetic material of the virus

circulating though the body.

Dr. Anania: Viral load is based on technology that lets us measure

extremely small quantities of hepatitis C virus RNA, the building

block of the virus.

Can I be positive for hepatitis C if I don't have any measurable

viral load?

Dr. Pearlman: Being " hepatitis C positive " means you have anti-HCV

antibodies in your blood. Having HCV antibodies just means you've

been exposed to the hepatitis C virus. You can certainly be antibody

positive and not have any measurable viral load. One lucky thing this

might mean is that you are one of the 15% to 40% of people who

naturally clear the virus from their bodies. The other possibility is

that the virus, during the time blood is drawn, was only temporarily

undetectable. HCV viral load in the blood goes up and down, and the

test might have caught it on a downswing. So before we tell someone

they are negative, we ask them to have the test repeated.

Dr. Anania: After hepatitis C treatment, people still have antibodies

to HCV. But if they have no detectable HCV viral load, that indicates

recovery from infection -- that is, response to treatment and

sustained remission. Over a period of time, if a later viral load

test comes back detectable, that patient is in remission.

-- In Hepatitis_C_Central , " treadle1950 "

wrote:

>

> HI all....I got some test results back today. My viral load went

from

> 840000 to 1710000 from Sept to Dec. What does that mean?

>