In most cases if your ELISA test is negative, it means that you do not have antibodies to the hepatitis C virus and you do not need to be tested further. Although false-negative tests are very rare with the ELISA, they may sometimes occur in patients whose immune systems do not produce enough antibodies, such as people on hemodialysis and people with immune disorders (eg, HIV positive persons).

If you have a high-risk for acquiring hepatitis C (for example, if you have injected drugs, had a transfusion before 1992, etc.) and your ELISA test is negative, your doctor may want to screen you again after a few months. Sometimes antibody tests such as the ELISA might not become positive for 3 to 6 months after a person is infected.

If the ELISA is positive, this generally means that there are antibodies against HCV in your blood; however, it does not necessarily mean that you have hepatitis C. It may be that you were infected in the past and have already cleared the infection. If the ELISA test is positive, your doctor or the specialist will probably perform an HCV RNA test to determine whether there is still virus in your blood or whether you have cleared the infection. In very rare cases, the ELISA may give a false-positive result, such as in people with autoimmune disorders. Again, these can be results can be confirmed with an HCV RNA test.

RIBA
The recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) is another test that detects the presence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in the blood. The RIBA can be used to confirm a positive ELISA, for example, in a blood donor who does not appear to have risk factors for hepatitis C. Blood banks also use the RIBA to test donated blood, especially to confirm blood samples that are HCV-positive by the ELISA.

Related Articles
	Diagnostic Blood Tests Antibody Tests: The ELISA and RIBA ALT Tests Liver Biopsy Genotyping HCV RNA Tests