Hepatitis C , I’m not really understanding this.

[wehoweho]

 

Well, my husband and I have an open relationship (it’s not exactly that, but just to make it easier to explain). I

n June 2025, he tested positive for Hepatitis C with a viral load of 6,000. We were very worried .  I tested negative the whole time.

However, the doctor advised him not to start treatment. First, because he is not a European citizen and therefore would not have access to “free” treatment (to summarize, his visa situation is more complicated). Second, the doctor asked him to wait six months, because in some cases the virus clears on its own.

Exactly six months later, he was tested again at the same medical center in Europe, and the result showed zero viral load. He was cured.

We were extremely happy, and one month later he traveled to his home country, where he has easier access to the public healthcare system. There, he repeated the Hepatitis C viral load test, and the result came back over 7 million.

I am a bit in shock about this situation. He is going to start treatment, of course, but I really want to understand what happened. How could he be "cured" 1 month ago, and now has a 7.000.000 viral load?

[Tiboer]

Sounds like the second test was likely wrong, for some reason.

Usually Hep C requires blood to blood transfer—IV drug use,  bloody sex, tattoos with dirty needles, etc,

Yes, a small percentage can clear without treatment (15-20%) but the vast majority the virus remains and causes liver damage

[rawfuckr]

Hard to tell what happened, but 6k is very low VL for Hep C.  Maybe 2nd test didnt have very high sensitivity.. 

Good to hear he's getting treatment though. He'll be cured in no time.