I have a question. I got a possible exposure to HCV at work when my glove fell off and I was exposed to blood with torn cuticles. If I test positive for HCV because of this, is it considered "acute" with the possibility of cure because I knew about with in a six month period? Or was I misinformed? Do some people ever become cured of early HCV infecton? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't get infected because the exposure was very minimal, but, want to be prepared for bad news.
TY

Hi TY,

Sorry to hear about your exposure. Working in that environment is such a risk.

First thing I would do is get a blood test and go from there.

I believe you are correct, you are catching it early IF YOU HAVE IT....and it's acute at this stage. Chronic Hepatitis is ongoing...I believe over 1 year.

Look for posts by Thanbey and look up the site, it's loaded with info.

hi ty
take a deep breath, first you need to calm yourself down.i understand that your anxious,(i was also when i found out).the virus is a slow one,but i would go to the doc, have the bloodwork done, and take it from there.chances are you could have contracted it through(exposure), however in my oppinion chances are greater that you didn't contract it.this being said according to the brief posting.you are in my prayers as well as everyone.hope to be hearing from you!
keep the faith, bless you..........mj

An acute case of hepatitis C is defined as one in which the patient tests NEGATIVE for anitbody and POSITIVE by PCR/RNA.

It means there is virus in your bloodstream, but you have not yet formed antibodies.

Once a person tests positive for both antibody AND PCR-RNA, they are considered chronic. An exposure could have taken place at any time, usually 8-12 weeks prior to the test.

Your exposure could have resulted in an infection. No one really knows what the chances are that this is the actual cause unless you tested negative immediately prior to the exposure.

I hope this helps,

thanbey

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www.hcop.org (http://www.hcop.org)
preapproved by moderator1

I heard during a lecture back in '98 that if there is definate exposure to the virus, the sooner the drugs that are used to combat it are administered, the chance of going chronic are greatly reduced. The lecturer stated (in '98) that this information is not well known in the medical community.

I just thought i would pass along what i heard then.

Best wishes!