[mturner]

Our almost 7 month son, has tested positive for Hepatitis C. The doctor is going to do another test to make sure he is positive and test his liver functions and values. Anyone else have a child that tested positive? We have not been able to find a lot of information on Hepatitis C in infants/children. Any info. would be appreciated. Also, please keep our son Nicklaus in your prayers. I am glad that he is home and we can get him whatever care he needs.

Martina

[amyfk]

HI Martina,

I just want to wish you best of luck and hope that it was a false positive for Hepatitis C for your son.

You may want to check the Russia board and ask the same question. Many of the children test positive for Hep C ANTIBODIES, in Russia, therefore I would have to guess that some will actually come up with a Hepatitis C diagnosis. When we were in process to adopt from Russia, many folks on the Russia board said their childrens' medicals tested positive for Hep C antibodies.

Best of luck and keep us posted,
Amy K, NJ

[saranbr]

Off hand I don't know alot about the implications of Hep C for infants/children other than the obvious liver issues. However, I do know that infants of Hep C + mothers aren't routinely tested to see if they contracted it from the mother until after 18 months because the antibodies they test for can still be present from the mother prior to that time. Hence, it is common to see a false positive test in a child under 18 months.

[azamboni]

I don't know anything about Hep C, Martina, but I just wanted you to know that I just prayed for Nicklaus! I hope that you get good news very soon!

[reds]

This is the first time I have posted this information on this forum. Our daughter came home at 9 months from Guatemala in April and our pediatrician did a complete "newborn screening" on her. She tested positive for Hep C but he said it was the Hep C antibodies. Which means her birth mother was Hep C positive. We were very worried about what this meant for her health. Do you know if it is a true Hep C positive or just the antibodies? The antibodies from a birthmom could stay inside a baby for up to 18 months. For example, a HIV positive mother could give birth to a baby that would test positive for the HIV antibodies but does not really have HIV. It is the same thing here. Our peditrician would not retest her until 18 months because he knew that would give her the best time frame for testing negative. Which I am very happy to report that she did test negative.

During this time we consulted a GI specialist who was a big help in explaining things. According to her some babies can take up to 2 years to get a negative result if they are testing positive for antibodies. Now days Hep C may not be curable but it is so treatable depending on the severity of the disease. The course of medicine and length of treatment could be just a couple months. With our daughter, she was a little on the small side but she was healthy. Showed no signs of jaundice or any of the other symptoms.

I was very scared because I was worried what it meant for her overall life. But I knew if she was positive she was here with us and would recieve the best possible treatment. It is scary though because I am sure you were like us and completely shocked at this possibility.

If you have any questions please pm me.

[BCFD]

You actually do not have to wait 18 months to do a RNA test. The antibody test, yes, but the RNA test will give you a diagnosis of either hcv + or - at any age. We had our daughter tested for hiv and hcv when she was 18 months old and it came back negative. We are now about to have our 2nd child tested to be on the safe side.

I just wanted to let you know that if anybody is ever concerned you do not have to wait out those 18 months. Just get the RNA test done. Some peds might be skeptical of doing this if the baby is not in a high risk category, but I would think NO medical background on the birthmom would be reason enough for a ped to agree on an RNA test.