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| Uses of Viral Load Test Results | |||||||||||
| Viral load test results have many uses, such as confirming ac-tive HCV infection, and predicting and measuring HCV treat-ment response before, during, and after therapy. Higher HCV viral loads may be associated with a greater risk of HCV trans-mission, particularly transmission from mothers to infants dur-ing pregnancy or birth. Viral load has not been correlated with the risk of sexual transmission. Furthermore, a correlation between HCV viral load and disease progression has not been shown. | |||||||||||
| Confirming active HCV infection->After a person has tested positive for HCV antibodies, an HCV viral load test is usually performed to confirm active HCV infection. This test is necessary because in up to 25% of people exposed to HCV, the virus can be cleared on its own. | |||||||||||
| Before treatment-> Viral load measurement can help predict how well HCV treatment will work. The lower the pre-treatment viral load, the more likely it is that a person will respond to current HCV therapies. | |||||||||||
| During treatment-> A decrease in viral load while on therapy indicates that treatment is working. A treatment is said to produce a complete virological response if it reduces viral load to an undetectable level. After 12 weeks of antiviral treatment, a 2-log drop in viral load or elimination of detect-able HCV is an indication that the medications are working. If a person does not achieve a 2-log drop in viral load or elimi-nation of detectable HCV after 12 weeks, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to eradicate HCV from his or her body. Viral load tests during treatment can also detect viral break-through, or increases in viral load that occur after a previous undetectable test result. | |||||||||||
| After treatment -> Viral load measurements can be used after cessation of therapy to monitor for relapse?that is, to see if the virus becomes detectable again after being undetectable when treatment was completed. | |||||||||||
| Note: A log drop in viral load is measured by decreasing the number by one zero. For instance, a one log drop in a viral load of 1,000,000 International Units is 100,000 International Units; a two log drop in a viral load of 1,000,000 International Units is 10,000 International Units. HOME PREV NEXT |
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| This information is provided by the Hepatitis C Support Project * a non-profit organization for HCV education, support and advocacy * � 2003 Hepatitis C Support Project * Reprint permission is granted and encouraged with credit to the Hepatitis C Support Project. | |||||||||||