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Hepatitis C Virus

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Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a major cause of liver disease worldwide.

HCV is a blood borne virus and most infections occur through exposure to blood from, sharing contaminated equipment when injecting drugs, sexual contact, unsafe health care or receipt of unscreened blood products. Although the majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic, HCV infection can develop into chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and increased risk of Liver cancer.

Although there is no effective vaccine for HCV, the development of new antiviral medications in recent years has led to high cure rates for Hepatitis C infection. In 2020 there were 325 notifications of HCV in 2020 (HPSC). It is thought that many cases of HCV remain undiagnosed.

A blood test is the only way to know if a person has been infected with the virus. The HCV antibody test identifies if you have ever been exposed to hepatitis C.

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Clinical Details

HCV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 6 weeks. The acute process is self-limited, rarely causes hepatic failure, and usually leads to chronic infection. Chronic HCV infection often follows a progressive course over many years and can ultimately result in cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and the need for liver transplantation. Liver disease progression is faster in those with high alcohol consumption and in those co-infected with HIV and/or hepatitis B virus. Antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) can be detected in the blood, usually within two or three months after exposure to the virus. Although there is no effective vaccine for HCV the development of new antiviral medications in recent years has led to high cure rates for Hepatitis C infection. In 2020 there were 325 notifications of HCV in 2020 (HPSC).

Case Study

Delivering True Innovation

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At Enfer Medical, we have integrated a cutting-edge and fully automated WASPLab® (Walk Away Specimen Processor) that has significantly enhanced our testing capabilities to ensure the highest of quality when processing patient samples.
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WASPLab® at Enfer Medical
Our entire microbiology workflow has been optimized using automation and highly sophisticated robots to ensure uninterrupted incubation for rapid bacterial growth and improved turnaround times for patients.
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Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
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Sample Type &
Volume Required

5mL venous serum or plasma OR 0.8mL capillary serum.

Enfer Medical

Tests/Assays

Enfer Medical offers the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) technology for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies to HCV. This test is CE-IVD certified.

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Patient

Request Form

For clients using the Enfer Medical Client Portal, the Enfer Medical Patient Request Form (PRF) will be generated when you have completed your “Test Request” within the portal linked below.

Enfer Medical Portal

Please note that samples suspected of containing high risk pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis should be clearly identified on the form and packed separately from other samples.

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24 hours

Results are available next working day.

7 Days a Week

This assay is available seven days a week.

Packaging

The packaging/preparation of samples for delivery to the laboratory are required to be in adherence to all national regulations for the safe transport of biological materials. HSE guidance can be reviewed HERE.
There are specific packaging instructions and labelling requirements requiring triple packaging including:

  • Primary leak-proof container – tube or vial containing the sample.
  • Secondary watertight container, with absorbent material, intended to protect the primary container.
  • Outer container protects the secondary container.
  • Patient Request forms must be placed between the secondary container and the outer shipping container.


Further information on the packaging/preparation of samples for delivery to the laboratory is contained within the Enfer Medical Laboratory User Manual which clients are provided with.

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Storage & Stability

Venous blood samples must be tested within 7 days of collection and stored at 2-8°C. Capillary blood samples must be tested within 7 days of collection.

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Transporting
Samples

In addition to the packaging of samples, the transport/delivery of clinical samples to the laboratory is required to be in adherence to all national regulations for the safe transport of biological materials. Enfer Medical provides a fully compliant logistics service, aligned with clients’ testing requirements.

Prompt transport of specimens:
To ensure prompt testing of samples and release of results within the published test turnaround times, samples should arrive to the laboratory by 18:00. Test turnaround time is measured from receipt of the sample at the laboratory until the time the authorised results are reported to users.

Acceptance/Rejection
of Samples

In rare cases specimens may not be suitable for testing on arrival to the laboratory. In that case the sample will be rejected at the receipt stage and the service user will be notified immediately and an explanation as to why the sample could not be processed will be provided. Reasons why samples cannot be processed include but are not limited to:

  • Samples received beyond the stability limits and/or not at the correct temperature indicated for each test.
  • Incorrect sample type received.
  • Leaking samples, sample not received or sample insufficient for analysis as stated below within sample requirements.
  • Non-compliant samples or request forms i.e. those missing sample date information, missing sample test request and/or missing sample site/type information.
  • Samples received without the necessary patient identifiers.
Clients will be provided with guidance on Sample Receipt Anomalies.

Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
Find Out More
Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
Find Out More
Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
Find Out More
Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
Find Out More
Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
Find Out More
Result Values:
Qualitative results for Anti-HCV will be reported as:
Qualitative results
  • DETECTED
  • NOT DETECTED
  • INVALID
Please note that acute and chronic HCV infection is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 53 of 2020) February 2020.

Please refer to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre for the Case Definitions for Notifiable Diseases:

HPSC Link
Accessing

Your Results

Following receipt at the Laboratory, results should be available on the next working day and will be reported to the referring clinician via the Enfer Medical Client Portal or in a format agreed with clients.

Client Login

Established clients can login to the portal using the link above.

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Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
Find Out More
Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
Find Out More
Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
Find Out More
Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
Find Out More
Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
Find Out More