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hep C testing
is a 3 month Hep C antibody test negative considered conclusive ???
I believe most doctors would recommend repeating the antibody test one more time to be sure. I think 6 months after exposure is really conclusive, but three months should be very close to conclusive. If you don't want to wait that long you can ask for an HCV PCR test, which is conclusive much earlier. It costs more so its not often ordered as the first test. The PCR test looks for the actual viral RNA, and it can find extremely small quantities so it can be an effective test as soon as the virus starts circulating in your blood. If your antibody test were to come back positive you would still have to have the PCR test to confirm an active infection, so in my mind you might as well do it early if you are worried. Good luck!
It can take 3 to 12 weeks to appear. Which means it could still be detected at
3 months.
3 months.
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