Hepatitis C?

Amy, When babies are first born (and for several months after), they will test positive for the same antibodies the mother had...more often than not, the antibodies will eventually dissapte and a follow-up test will be negative. People can have Hep C and never have taken drugs...I'm a prime example of this. Four years ago I discovered that I had Hep C and I have never taken any form of drugs. I did, however, have a blood transfusion when I was 12 years old (back in 1972). Hep C was not officially identified until around 1990 even though it has existed for more than a century...it was another year or two before they had a test to check for the Hep C virus in the blood. Consequently, when anyone donated blood the virus could not be detected and it was passed on to the blood recipient (i.e. me). Hep C is a virus...much like HIV is a virus...only even more prevelant. More than 4 million people in the U.S. are infected with Hep C...that's more than twice the number infected with the HIV virus. While drug users certainly have a higher incident of either virus...anyone that had a blood transfusion prior to the early 1990's is at high risk of being infected with Hep C. Hep C is not a death sentence...approximately 20% of the people that contract it will "throw it off"...they will still have the virus antibodies in their bloodstream but not have the active virus. Of the others, approximately 20% will develop serious cirrhosis (or scarring) of the liver which keeps the liver from functioning properly...many of this 20% will die from complications of the cirrhosis unless they have a liver transplant. Unfortunately, there are very few symptoms of Hep C...most people (up to 80%) of those infected don't even know it. And unless they are in the unlucky bunch that have the virus progress to cirrhosis (which takes n average 30 YEARS), they may never know. Currently, the blood test for Hep C is not given unless someone donates blood or there is a suspicion that they might have it (i.e. they are in a high risk group). Fortunately, when my Hep C was detected (with a detailed blood workup when I was undergoing fertility treatments), I was found to have minimal scarring of the liver - even though I must have had the virus for 28 years. Because of good insurance, I was able to go through the very expensive, long (48 weeks) and not fun chemo-treatment in an attempt to get rid of the virus. I was one of the lucky 70% that the treatment works for and today, my blood work shows no viral load whatsoever (although I will always carry the Hep C antibodies that my body created to try and fight the virus...much like someone that once had mono will always have mono antibodies in their system). Anyway...long answer to a short question...the fact that your baby had a positive Hep C test for antibodies (which is all they would have tested for...not for the full blown virus because that test is much more expensive), is not a guarantee that the mother was a drug user...certainly possible, and maybe even likely, but by no means a guaranteed thing. And it definitely does not mean that she was using drugs while she was pregnant...she could have had the virus for years prior to the pregnancy. It is something to ask questions about (with regards to the effect the drugs may have had on the baby). And, if the baby does indeed have the virus (about 5-10% of birth mothers will transmit the virus to their children during childbirth), it certainly isn't a kiss of death. There are treatments...not 100% successful yet but they are getting better all the time (as little as 10 years ago, the treatment was only 35% successfull in ridding the body of the virus...now, it's up to 65 or 70%.) If your baby, does have the virus...you can deal with it if you have too. I would be more concerned about possible effects of drug usage during the pregnancy...look for those types of signs and don't worry too much about the Hep C. Regardless, best of luck to you! Nancy Tim and Allie's MamaVladivostok 03/2003