2. Glossary of terms
Antibodyscreening:a rapid testto detectantibodiesor cellsproducedbythe immune systemto
fightdisease/infection/virus.The hepatitisCantibodytestdetects hepatitisCantibodiestoindicate
exposure tothe hepatitisCvirus. The testonlyrequiresone dropof bloodandprovidesresultsin
20 minutes.
Viral Load: the amount of the virusfoundinblood,generallygivenintermsof geneticcopies
Genotype:referstothe geneticmakeupof anorganism, like avirus.The hepatitisCvirushas7
differentgenotypesorstrains,butthe mostcommonin the U.S. is genotype 1.
Liver damage scaling:an assessmentof how damagedthe liverisona scale of 0-4, 0 meaningno
damage and 4 beingcirrhoticorheavilydamaged/scarred.
Hepatitis C Prevention
HepatitisCisspreadthroughblood-to-bloodcontact.The mostcommon mode of transmissionis
throughsharinginjectiondrugequipment.Assuch,itisimportantthat if you do use injectiondrugs
to alwaysuse new,sterile equipmentandnevershare.HepatitisCisalsospreadthroughunsafe
tattooingandbodypiercing. Itisalwayssafestto gettattoosand bodypiercingsatlicensed,
commercial shops.Tattoosandpiercings shouldalwaysbe administeredusingnew,sterile needles;
tattoosshouldbe givenusinganewpot of ink.Alwaysmake sure yourartistis wearinggloves.
HepatitisCcan be spreadthroughsexual activities,butthe riskof sexual transmissionislow. Itis
safesttouse barriermethodslike male orfemalecondomsand lubricantstopreventfriction.If you
thinkyou’ve beenexposedtohepatitisC,youcan gettested; however,itcantake up to 6 months
afterexposure foratest to detecthepatitisC.
Hepatitis C Myths
Myth 1 - Someone can be a “carrier” for hepatitisC: HepatitisCdoesnot have carriers.Just
because someone testspositive forantibodies,doesnotmeantheyare a carrierand can infect
otherpeople.Rather,someone thatispositiveforantibodiesbuthasanundetectable viral loadhas
merelybeenexposedoronce infectedwithhepatitisC.If theydonot have a detectable viral load
for hepatitisC,theycannotinfectothers.
Myth 2 - HepatitisC can be active or inactive: Thisisinaccurate terminology.Whatisgenerally
meantby sayinghepatitisCis“inactive”isthatsomeone isnotcurrentlyexperiencingsymptomsor
that theirviral loadisundetectable.People withhepatitisCgenerallydonothave noticeable,
visible symptoms;howeverthatdoesnotmeantheirhepatitisCis“inactive” –the virusisstill
replicatingintheirliver.Onthe otherhand,if someone hasanundetectable viralloaditmeansthat
theyno longerhave the virusandare cured!