Hepatitis C

Causes & Risk Factors

Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through blood-to-blood contact:

•  Sharing needles or other injection equipment.

•  Receipt of blood products or medical procedures before adequate screening was in place.

•  Unsafe medical, dental, or cosmetic procedures involving inadequately sterilized equipment.

•  Mother-to-child transmission, though less common than with hepatitis B.

•  Sexual transmission, though generally less efficient than with hepatitis B or HIV.

Symptoms & When to Test

Hepatitis C is often called a "silent" infection because most people have no symptoms, especially in the early stages.

•  Often asymptomatic, particularly in early or chronic infection

•  Fatigue, when symptoms do occur

•  Unexplained elevated liver enzymes found incidentally

•  Symptoms of advanced liver disease in longstanding untreated infection

When Should You Consider Testing?

Testing is appropriate for risk factors such as past or current injection drug use, receipt of blood products before adequate screening, unexplained elevated liver enzymes, or known exposure to hepatitis C.

Why Tests Are Combined

Anti-HCV screens for past or current exposure, but a positive result alone cannot distinguish active infection from a cleared past infection — HCV RNA is needed to confirm whether the virus is currently present.

HCV RNA quantitative serves an additional purpose beyond diagnosis — it is used to monitor response to antiviral treatment, with successful treatment typically resulting in undetectable HCV RNA.

ALT/AST, bilirubin, albumin, and CBC/platelet count together assess the degree of liver injury and synthetic function, which is relevant both to disease staging and to monitoring for progression to more advanced liver disease.

Tests Available at NPL

Preparation requirements vary by specific test — please follow the instructions provided by your doctor or NPL for the tests ordered.

Home Sample Collection

NPL offers convenient home sample collection for Hepatitis C blood tests, so you don't need to visit a lab in person.

→ Book your test online, via the NPL app, or by calling +977 1 5970147 and select a convenient time slot for home sample collection.

→ A certified and experienced NPL phlebotomist visits your home at the scheduled time, following strict hygiene and safety protocols.

→ Your sample is transported under controlled, monitored conditions to NPL's NABL ACCREDITED UNDER ISO 15189:2022 laboratory for processing.

→ Your digital report is delivered securely to your phone or email, along with access to download and share it as needed.

When to See a Doctor

•  Known risk factors — past or current injection drug use, receipt of blood products before screening era

•  Unexplained elevated liver enzymes

•  Known exposure to hepatitis C

•  Positive Anti-HCV result requiring confirmatory RNA testing

•  Known hepatitis C infection — discuss antiviral treatment options