Hepatitis C Key Messages - Testing
You can have hepatitis C and not know it. The only way to know if you have hepatitis C is to get tested for it.
- Many people who have hepatitis C in Canada don’t know they have it. Talk to your healthcare provider about getting tested for hepatitis C.
- You can have hepatitis C for many years without having symptoms or feeling sick, even though the virus is injuring your liver.
- It usually takes two blood tests: the first test checks if you’ve ever had hepatitis C. A second test checks if you have hepatitis C right now.
- Treatment cures over 95% of people with hepatitis C in eight or 12 weeks.
- If you have hepatitis C, talk to your healthcare provider about your treatment options.
- There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, and no one is immune to hepatitis C. Even if you’ve had it before, you can get it again if the hepatitis C virus gets into your blood.