HEPCPCR

HCV (Hepatitis C Virus), PCR

Blood/ Plain blood (Red top) 6 mL, 1 tube

Serum, minimum volume 1 mL 
Separate plasma within 24 hours of collection.

Plastic tube

Hemolysis: N/A
Lipemia: N/A
Icterus: N/A
Other: Heparin, anticoagulant blood

Specimen Type	Temperature	Time
Whole blood	At temperature, 2oC to 25oC	24 hours
Serum	Refrigerated, 2oC to 8oC	72 hours
	Frozen, -20oC to -80oC	6 weeks.

HEPCPCR

HCV (Hepatitis C Virus), PCR

Real Time Polymerase chain reaction (Real-Time PCR)

Monday through Saturday, at 1:00 p.m.and 07:00 p.m.

Received specimen to reported within 2 days.

Molecular biology & Genetics, Laboratory Department Tel.14168

2 months

HEPCPCR

HCV (Hepatitis C Virus), PCR

Hepatitis C Virus is considered to be the principal etiologic agent responsible for 90 to 95% of the cases of post-transfusion hepatitis. As a blood-borne virus, HCV can be transmitted by blood and blood products. The incidence of HCV infection is highest in association with intravenous drug abuse and to a lesser extent with other percutaneous exposures. Spontaneous viral clearance rates in exposed individuals are highly variable; between 10 and 60% have been reported as measured clinically by normalization of liver enzymes and clearance of plasma HCV RNA. HCV virus particles cannot be cultured from infected blood samples; hence the presence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients infected with HCV has led to the development of immunoserological assays that are specific for these antibodies. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies, however, is a measure of prior exposure to HCV infection, but cannot be considered a marker for current infection. Furthermore, in cases of acute HCV infection, individuals may fail to produce antibody to HCV, making diagnosis of current HCV infection impossible using immunoserological techniques. Alternatively, detection of HCV RNA by nucleic acid tests may provide evidence for current infection. Using nucleic acid tests, it is possible to detect HCV viremia prior to immunological sero-conversion.

Negative

1. A result of "Negative" indicates the absence of HCV RNA in the patient's serum.
2. Reliable results are dependent on adequate specimen collection, transport, storage and processing procedures.
3. Mutations within the highly conserved regions of the viral genome covered by the test primers and/or probes have been identified and may result in under-quantitation of or failure to detect the virus.
4. Detection of HCV RNA is dependent on the number of virus particles present in the specimen and may be affected by specimen collection methods and patient factors, (ie, age, presence of symptoms, and/or stage of the infection).

Manufacturer’s package insert, COBAS^®AmpliPrep/COBAS^® TaqMan^® HCV Quantitative Test, version 2.0, September 2019, Roche Molecular Systems, NJ 08876 Branchburg, USA.