Microbiology
Hepatitis C Quantitative PCR (Viral Load)
Specimen
Blood sample (plasma)
Specimen container
Pink top EDTA (6ml)
Special Instructions
Samples from patients known to have blood transmissible viral infections should be clearly labelled “High Risk” or “Danger of Infection”.
If this is post needlestick monitoring following injury from a known HCV +ve donor, send a sample within 48 hours of injury. Include details of the incident, i.e. date, and name/hospital number of the donor (with their consent).
Please state if patient is on antiviral treatment.
Test Usage
Use for determination of active ongoing HCV infection, monitoring of longer term disease progression and response to antiviral therapies.
Availability
Local test
Processing Time
7 days
Reference
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hepatitis-c-guidance-data-and-analysis
