Hepatitis C
Testing, Treatment & Prevention
The Northern Kentucky Health Department offers free Hepatitis C testing. Beginning October 1, 2025, NKY Health will also offer Hep C treatment services.
Testing
Hepatitis C is the No. 1 reason for liver transplants in the United States. Most people who are infected with HCV develop a chronic, or lifelong, infection. Left untreated, hepatitis C can cause serious liver damage, including cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Liver damage from Hepatitis C can be prevented by early diagnosis and timely access to care and treatment.
People who should be tested include all adults at least once in their lifetime, pregnant people, people who have been incarcerated, people who use drugs (or have ever injected drugs, even once), and people who participate in certain high-risk behaviors.
Testing for hepatitis C may involve multiple tests, depending on the results. If the initial results are positive, or you engage in risk behavior or believe you may have been exposed the hepatitis C, a second test will be required.
- Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Antibody Test: This initial screening is done through a simple blood test (finger prick or small blood draw), which can determine if someone has ever been infected with HCV. It searches for HCV antibodies, which are chemicals released into the bloodstream when someone has an infection. Results from the HCV antibody test can be provided on-site with results in 20-30 minutes. It will NOT tell you if you have hepatitis C now. You will need a second test to know if you are currently infected.
- NAT (Nuclic Acid Test) for HCV RNA: This second test checks for the presence or amount of hepatitis C virus in your blood. A NAT for HCV RNA result can either be undetectable or detectable. Sometimes the result is also reported as a viral load (the amount of virus in your blood).
Testing Sites
NKY Health offers hepatitis C and a variety of other services for at each of our four county health centers, as well as on mobile units that travel around the region. Kentucky Medicaid is accepted. If you are uninsured, some services are on a sliding-fee scale based on your income. That means the amount you pay is based on your income and family size. No one will be denied service because of inability to pay.
County Health Centers
Contact the health center most convenient for you. All centers are open 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Same day appointments are available. Testing can also be done at mobile units, which travel throughout the region.
Boone County
7505 Burlington Pike, Florence, KY 41042 859-363-2060
Campbell County
1098 Monmouth St., Newport, KY 41071 859-431-1704
Grant County
234 Barnes Road, Williamstown, KY 41097 859-824-5074
Kenton County
1415 James Simpson Jr. Way, Covington, KY 41011 859-431-3345
Mobile Units
The mobile units are at regular on a monthly basis, as well as at one-time sites at various times throughout the month. Check out the Community Outreach page to find when and where the mobile unit will be near you.
Understanding Your HCV Test Results
Non-Reactive/Negative Anti-HCV Test Result
If your HCV antibody test result is considered non-reactive or negative, this means you are not currently infected with the hepatitis C virus. If you have engaged in risky behavior such as sharing injection drug equipment in the past or think you might have been exposed to hepatitis C in the last 6 months, you will need to be tested again.
Reactive or Postive Anti-HCV Test Result
If your HCV antibody test results are considered reactive or positive, this means you have been infected with the hepatitis C virus at some point in your life.
When a person is infected with HCV, HCV antibodies will always exist in their bloodstream. A reactive antibody test does not necessarily mean that you currently have hepatitis C, and a follow-up test is needed.
The Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) for HCV RNA
The Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) for HCV RNA test checks to see if you currently have HCV in your bloodstream. If your NAT for HCV RNA is:
- Negative – You were infected with hepatitis C virus, but the virus is no longer in your body because you were cured or cleared the virus naturally.
- Positive – You now have the virus in your blood and need to consult a physician for treatment.
If you have a reactive antibody test AND a positive NAT for HCV RNA, we can talk to you about treatment.
Treatment
Unlike Hepatitis A and B, there is no vaccine to prevent Hepatitis C. However, Hepatitis C can be treated and cured. Once you learn that you are infected with hepatitis C, it is important that you immediately connect with a health care provider who can monitor your liver disease and provide you with proper medical care. Decisions about treatment for hepatitis C are based on many factors. Together, you and your health care provider can decide which treatment is right for you.
Safe and effective medicines that can cure hepatitis C have been available since 2014. These medicines are easy to take and have very few side effects, can cure 95 percent of people in just 8-12 weeks, are often covered by insurance, and do not require sobriety.
A follow-up test is done 12 weeks after finishing the treatment to be sure the medicine worked.
If you are treated successfully, the virus can be eliminated from your body. This is called a sustained viral response or SVR. A SVR reduces your risk of an early death and improves your quality of life. It’s important to know that even if you are successfully treated, you are not protected from getting re-infected with hepatitis C in the future.
Prevention
Early diagnosis and medical monitoring are key to better health outcomes. Even without treatment, there’s a lot you can do to stay healthy and protect your liver from damage:
- Avoid or reduce your alcohol consumption, which can cause liver damage.
- Make sure you are vaccinated against hepatitis A and B, which can also cause liver disease.
- Ask your doctor before taking any prescription, over-the-counter medications, supplements or vitamins.
Minimize Risk of Transmission to Others
- If you inject illegal drugs, the best choice is to stop. If you are going to inject drugs, do it as safely as you can. Do not share needles or any other injection equipment (syringes, cotton, cooker, water, etc.).
- Do not share personal care items that may have blood on them such as razors, toothbrushes, or nail clippers.
- Do not donate blood, tissue, or semen.
- Practice safer sex by using condoms or dental dams. Avoid sex with blood exposure or tearing of tissues.
Utilize NKY Health’s Harm Reduction Services
- Syringe Exchange Program
- We offer syringe exchange sites in Campbell, Grant, and Kenton counties that allow for participants to safely exchange used syringes for sterile ones. Additionally, we provide safe disposal of used equipment.
- Free male and female condoms
- Connect with people who offer treatment resources and other health services, including naloxone overdose reversal kits, pregnancy test kits, and testing for HIV and syphilis.
Facts About Hepatitis C
Baby Boomers (those born between 1945-1965) are five times more likely to have hepatitis C than other adults.
The hepatitic C virus can live outside of the body (for example, on a syringe) for up to six weeks.
Hepatitis C is one of the most common types of viral hepatitis in the United States, with an estimated 2.4 to 4 million people having hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is NOT spread through casual contact such as sneezing, coughing, hugging, and sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses.
Previously, the most common form of transmission of HCV was blood transfusions, until changes in blood donation requirements in 1994. Now contracting HCV through transfusions is very rare.
What is Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is spread by contact with infected blood. Today, most people become infected with HCV by sharing needles or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs. The infection can be broken down into two types:
- Acute: Acute is a new infection that can range in severity from very mild with few or no symptoms, to a serious condition requiring hospitalization.
- Chronic: Chronic is a lifelong infection. Over time, chronic hepatitis C can cause serious health problems including liver disease, liver failure, and liver cancer.
Symptoms
Most people (about 70-80 percent) with an acute hepatitis C infection do not experience any symptoms or show signs of the infection. If hepatitis C symptoms do occur, they usually appear within two weeks to six months after being exposed to hepatitis C. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, nausea, decreased appetite, muscle or joint pain, dark urine, grey-colored stool, and yellow skin and eyes.
How It Spreads
HCV is a bloodborne disease that is spread through contact with even a small amount of blood from someone living with HCV. People living with HCV may not have symptoms, but can still spread HCV to others.
Today, HCV is often passed by sharing equipment used for drug use. It can also be spread through shared tattoo or body-piercing needles, personal care items that may be exposed to blood like razors or toothbrushes, or from pregnant person to baby. While rare, sexual transmission of hepatitis C is also possible.
Hepatitis C and Drug Use
Today, the most common way hepatitis C is spread is through the sharing of equipment used to prepare, inject, inhale, or smoke drugs, including syringes, straws, pipes, spoons, tied, cookers, and filters. Hepatitis C is very infectious, and can spread when a person comes in contact with even the slightest amount of contaminated blood, even on dried surfaces. The virus can live up to six weeks on dried surfaces. People who inject drugs can get hepatitis C from:
- Needles & Syringes. Sharing or reusing needles and syringes increases the chance of spreading the hepatitis C virus. Syringes with detachable needles increase this risk even more because they can retain more blood after they are used than syringes with fixed-needles.
- Preparation Equipment. Any equipment, such as cookers, cottons, water, ties, and alcohol swabs, can easily become contaminated during the drug preparation process.
- Fingers. Fingers that come into contact with infected blood can spread hepatitis C. Blood on fingers and hands can contaminate the injection site, cottons, cookers, ties, and swabs.
- Surfaces. Hepatitis C can spread when blood from an infected person contaminates a surface, and then that surface is reused by another person to prepare injection equipment.
