Hep C Discussion Forum

Your explaination was of help to me too but I have a question.  I don't know if you can answer it or not but should I be concerned if my VL was 25,000 at detection and after 8 wks is >25 but detectable.  I got a little confused when others on here are undetectable after 4 and 8 wks.  I am now starting my 22 wk of 24 and my doctor ordered another 4 wks of tx.  I have been checking others here and they are, for the most part, quicker responder.

Hi Lon, A ' normal' viral load is zero. Unfortuntely no test can measure that.

The best we can do is get the most sensitive test we can, which is a Quantitative test measuring down to 5 viral copies per ml of blood. This is available as the Heptimax Test which is a 2 part test. The first part is a PCR Cobas Taqman assay which can measure down to 43 viral copies. An additional TMA test can measure as low as 5. The result will be given as '<5 '. Other tests have different lower limits of detection. I only have access to the Roche PCR which measures down to 15. I think it is useful to get all your VLs during Rx done at the same Lab.

The Qualitative PCR test is cheaper, and may be the only one insurance will pay for. It measures down to 50 or 43, and the result is given as +ve (if above those numbers) or -ve ( if below).

The VL at the start of Rx is some help, as it's great to see the numbers come down. I was 1.28m at start, 3,030 after 4 weeks then <15 at weeks 8 and 12. ( the <15 comes with a Target Not Detected). Although some studies say that a low VL at start of Rx is better, we have seen a wide variety of VLs ( up to 60m) who seem to get Undet. early. So essentially, VL does not mean much relating to liver damage or likelihood of SVR. Good luck

Hi Lon, a million or so considers low, you are about in the low/mid range.