What is the definition or description of: hcv rna?

Viral infection: Hcv is the hepatitis c virus, an important cause of chronic liver disease and some cancers. Rna is ribonucleic acid, a chemical similar to dna. Some viruses, including hcv, use RNA as their genetic material instead of dna. For patients infected with hcv, a blood test for hvc RNA is a measure of "viral load", how much virus they are carrying. This can be used to measure progress of therapy.