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A 20-year-old male asked:

Does hepatitis c coinfection prolong window period of hiv? can hiv pcr test detect it at 8 week post possible exposure?

2 doctor answers4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Brian Nguyen
Obstetrics and Gynecology 13 years experience
No.: Hepatitis C and HIV are two different viruses and will act and be detected in different ways. They should not affect the ability to diagnose each other. HIV PCR tests can be done fairly quickly after exposure, but usually 3 months is the normal timing for accurate results, not 8 weeks.
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Dr. Minghsun Liu
Infectious Disease 21 years experience
Yes: The window period for HIV PCR test is 1-3 weeks so at 8 weeks, it should be able to detect a positive infection. As far as I am aware, I don't think there is interference from hepatitis C virus on the PCR result.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Nov 28, 2017

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