HepCMyWay: Powered by Central Outreach

The standard test for Hepatitis C is a blood test, and requires a testing center to draw your blood. If you're in Western Pennsylvania or Southeast Ohio, Central Outreach Wellness Center provides FREE rapid Hepatitis C testing to those who need it. If you're elsewhere in the United States, be sure to contact your local health department or primary care physician for an initial Hep C test.

Your initial Hep C test will come up with one of two results: Non-reactive, or negative, which means you are not infected with the Hep C virus. Reactive, or positive, which means you have been infected with Hep C at some point in your life. Once a person is infected with Hep C, the antibodies deployed to fight the virus will always remain in your body, even after the infection has cleared. For that reason, a reactive test doesn’t necessarily mean you currently have Hep C. If your test comes up reactive, the lab will perform a second test, called a “nucleic acid test” (NAT). The NAT test for Hep C also has two potential results: Negative, meaning that although you were infected with Hep C at some point, you no longer have it in your body. If you’ve never been through Hep C treatment before, this likely means that your body fought off the virus naturally. Positive, meaning that the virus is present in your blood and that you should begin treatment right away.