We do them because we're also doing the clinical trials, and so they aren't available to other people. The tests are far more sensitive than a culture, which takes longer - one to three weeks. But if you compare it with biopsy, MRI or bronchoalveolarlavage, or to a drug course that needs to be repeated because the first was ineffective, it's a bargain. The hospital is currently looking for persons who might have been exposed to hepatitis C as a result of a transfusion. The transfusion service is sending out letters to past blood recipients, and we're providing screening.
Patients can send in blood or come here to have their blood drawn.
This is an ongoing effort. Transfusion aside, there is a lot of focus on hepatitis. Most carriers are infected during the early years of life and remain asymptomatic until many years later, when there is significant liver damage. By then it is very difficult to treat. Early, accurate diagnosis is really important if a treatment is to have any chance of success, but routine antibody screening is difficult because of the long time required to develop sufficient antibodies to be detectable, often six weeks to six months.