Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] We have a patient that had hepatitis C. She states and has been treated and no longer has it. I am under the impression that once one has Hepatitis C one is always carrier. We are a pain center that does injections. What precautions should I take? Do I need to double bag all linen? Thank you for your help.
[|AI|]  Hello, Hepatitis C is a viral disease that is transmitted similarly to hepatitis B (injection of the Chat Doctor.  In other words, the body is able to clear the virus in 15-50% of cases (similarly to hepatitis B). Therefore, a person can be infected by the hepatitis C virus but if the body reacts optimally then antibodies are produced and the infection is cleared in 15%-50% of cases. Antioch antibodies result positive thus confirming exposure to HCV, but infection is either acute or chronic or a past infection that has resolved. Otherwise, if HCV RNA is detected, this indicates ongoing active infection. For those requiring treatment, the goal of treatment in Hepatitis C is the so-called Sustained Biological Response (SVR), meaning non-detectable HCV RNA after treatment. Treatment of Hepatitis C has made tremendous progress lately, achieving SVR in about 99% of patients after the right treatment. Therefore, I think that your patient belongs to the group of persons being infected with Hepatitis C, but the body was unable to clear the virus, she has been treated and has achieved a good SVR (as explained above). Therefore, she has not completely cleared the virus (she is a chronic carrier), with low risk of disease progression and transmitting the disease due to treatment response. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.