Recommending a Hepatitis C test
As a professional, such as a GP, consultant, counsellor, nurse,
addiction worker or clinician, your role in spotting Hepatitis C by
identifying people who have been at risk and either offering,
recommending or referring them for a test is vital. The SIGN Guideline: Management of Hepatitis
C states that the following groups are required to be
tested or offered a test.
Required testing
The following groups should be tested for Hepatitis C:
- blood/tissue donors
- patients on haemodialysis
- healthcare workers who intend to pursue a career in a specialty
that requires them to perform exposure prone procedures
- healthcare workers at six, 12 and 24 weeks following an
isolated acute percutaneous exposure to blood infected, or strongly
suspected of being infected, with Hepatitis C, and anti-Hepatitis C
testing at 12 and 24 weeks.
Recommended testing
Anyone with one of the following criteria should be offered a
Hepatitis C test:
- an otherwise unexplained persistently elevated alanine
aminotransferase (a liver enzyme, the elevation of which indicates
inflammation of the liver)
- a history of injecting drug use
- a child with a Hepatitis C antibody positive mother
- HIV positive
- recipient of blood clotting factor concentrates prior to
1987
- recipient of blood and blood components before September 1991
and organ/tissue transplants in the UK before 1992
- a healthcare worker following percutaneous or mucous membrane
exposure to blood suspected to be/infected with Hepatitis C
- received medical/dental treatment in a country where Hepatitis
C is common and infection control may be poor
- had a tattoo or body piercing in circumstances where infection
control procedure is suboptimal
- had a sexual partner/household contact who is Hepatitis C
infected.