18 yr old female, very low risk. tested positive for hcv antibody, negative for quantitative rna test. further testing necessary? my physician said no

Probably not.: Because you are in a low-risk category, further testing is probably not necessary. It is theoretically possible, however, that a hepatitis C infection could be present with only intermittent replication of the hepatitis C virus. To be absolutely certain, you could consider repeating the HCV RNA test in 1-2 months, although in this case it is probably not necessary. Good luck.

Probably correct: Your doctor is right. False positive HCV antibody tests occur from time to time -- that's why the RNA test is important. But that result is very reliable evidence against a current HCV infection. But if in doubt, continue to discuss with your doctor or ask for a second opinion with an infectious disease or liver/gastroenterolgy expert.

Agree with doc: If the HCV RNA test is negative, you do not have active infection. The positive antibody test may be false positive or an indication of past infection that you overcame.