What Does Anti-HCV Mean on a Blood Test?

What it means

HCV stands for hepatitis C virus, which infects the liver. When someone is exposed to it, their immune system makes antibodies against it. The anti-HCV test looks for those antibodies. It is the usual first step in checking for hepatitis C.

A positive anti-HCV result shows that the person has met the virus at some point. It does not show whether the virus is still there. Some people clear hepatitis C on their own, and others have been treated, yet the antibodies often stay in the blood for life. That is why a positive result is followed by a second test, usually HCV RNA (a viral load test), which checks whether the virus itself is still present. Many labs run this follow-up test automatically on the same sample.

Anti-HCV is different from hepatitis B tests such as HBsAg. They look for different viruses, and the way the results are read is different too.

Where you may see it

• Hepatitis screening panels with HBsAg and HIV tests
• Pregnancy, blood donation and pre-surgery screening results
• Liver test investigations when ALT or AST is raised
• Reports that add "HCV RNA to follow" or "reflex RNA testing"