Ontario Hepatitis Treatment

If you are eligible for drug therapy, you may experience side-effects that require constant monitoring. This includes regular return visits to the treatment centre or to your health care provider for blood tests and general assessment. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing is an important part of treatment monitoring and involves blood tests that look for the virus. These tests play a major role in clinical assessment for therapy and ongoing monitoring.

PCR viral detection tests:

These tests are sometimes called "qualitative tests" and simply show if the hepatitis C virus is present in your blood. They are used during therapy to help determine whether Interferon therapy is working well.

PCR genotype tests:

These tests are used before therapy to determine what type of hepatitis C virus you have. Knowing the genotype of your virus will determine what type and duration of treatment is appropriate for you.

PCR viral load tests:

These tests are sometimes called "quantitative tests" and measure the amount of hepatitis C virus in your blood. Viral load tests are used for monitoring response to therapy. They can also help determine the likelihood of response to therapy.

Even after successful therapy you could become re-infected, so make sure to avoid blood-to-blood contact. Also, you will continue to manufacture antibodies so the antibody test will remain positive. Successful therapy over the long term is based on the progressive suppression of the virus, so you should have follow-up visits at six months and one year with your health care provider.