Hepatitis Screening Blood Test

A blood test for the three viruses that cause most infectious hepatitis, inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis A is caught from contaminated food or water and clears on its own; the test shows whether you have had it or been vaccinated. Hepatitis B and C are spread through blood and body fluids, can persist for decades without symptoms, and cause cirrhosis and liver cancer if untreated; hepatitis B is preventable by vaccine and hepatitis C is now curable with tablets. This test looks for hepatitis B surface antigen, which shows current infection, and antibodies to hepatitis A and hepatitis C.

Hepatitis B surface antigen: positive means you currently have hepatitis B, acute or chronic, and need GP referral for further tests and treatment; negative means no current infection, though it does not show past infection or vaccination. Hepatitis C antibodies: positive means you have been infected at some point; some people clear the virus, so a positive antibody is followed by a PCR test to see whether the virus is still present, and if so, treatment with tablets cures most people. Hepatitis A antibodies: positive means past infection or vaccination and lifelong immunity. Your GP report explains your combination and the next step.

Hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C antibodies can take several weeks after exposure to become detectable, so a negative test within the first weeks does not rule either out. Test at three months after the exposure for a reliable result; if you cannot wait, test now and repeat at three months. If the exposure was very recent, within 72 hours, and significant, such as a needlestick or unprotected sex with someone known to have hepatitis B, contact a sexual health clinic or A&E immediately, because hepatitis B vaccine and immunoglobulin can prevent infection if given quickly.

Anyone who has had unprotected sex with a new partner, shared needles or drug equipment, had a tattoo, piercing or medical or dental treatment abroad or in unregulated settings, received a blood transfusion before 1991 in the UK, or was born or lived in a country where hepatitis B or C is common. Healthcare, laboratory, emergency and prison workers exposed to blood. People with unexplained abnormal liver tests. And anyone planning travel or work that requires proof of hepatitis status or immunity. Most people with chronic hepatitis B or C have no symptoms and do not know.

Yes. Sexual health clinics test for hepatitis B and C free and confidentially, the NHS offers a free home hepatitis C finger-prick kit online, and some areas offer home hepatitis B kits; your GP will also test if you have a risk factor or abnormal liver results. This private test is for people who want all three viruses checked in one laboratory sample with a GP report, prefer a clinic or home nurse visit to a sexual health service, need a documented result for travel or work, or want the result within a week.

No. HIV and the hepatitis viruses are different infections and need separate tests, though they share transmission routes and are often tested together in sexual health screens. This test covers hepatitis A, B and C only. If you want HIV and other sexually transmitted infections tested as well, our sexual health tests cover them, and a sexual health clinic will test for all of them free.

It might, but it cannot confirm or exclude it. Acute hepatitis raises the liver enzyme ALT sharply, and chronic hepatitis B or C often raise it mildly, so an unexplained raised ALT is a common reason for hepatitis testing. But many people with chronic hepatitis have normal liver tests for years, and raised enzymes have many other causes. If you want to know whether you have hepatitis, you need this virus-specific test; if you want to know whether a known infection is affecting your liver, you need liver function tests as well. Our Liver Blood Test is from £49.

Often none. When acute hepatitis causes symptoms they are flu-like: tiredness, fever, aches, nausea, loss of appetite and pain under the right ribs, followed in some people by dark urine, pale stools and yellowing of the skin and eyes. Chronic hepatitis B and C typically cause no symptoms at all for years, which is why screening matters; by the time tiredness, itching or jaundice appear, liver damage may already be advanced. Anyone with jaundice should see a GP promptly rather than wait for a screening result.

Your GP report explains the result and its urgency. A positive hepatitis B surface antigen means referral through your GP to a liver specialist for further blood tests, assessment of liver damage and, where needed, antiviral treatment; household and sexual contacts should be tested and vaccinated. A positive hepatitis C antibody is followed by a PCR test to see whether the virus is still present; if it is, treatment with a course of tablets cures most people and is free on the NHS. Neither result means liver damage is inevitable, and both are manageable.

Yes. Hepatitis A is common in travellers returning from countries with poor sanitation and causes an unpleasant acute illness but no chronic infection. The antibody test shows whether you are immune, from past infection or vaccination, which is useful before travel: if you are not immune, a vaccine gives long-lasting protection. A positive result with recent symptoms can indicate current infection, which the GP report will explain.

No fasting or preparation. The test needs a venous blood sample, taken at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics or by a nurse at home, so it is not available as a finger-prick kit. Results are confidential and sent only to you. No GP referral is needed.

Results are emailed within 5 to 7 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, with a GP report that explains each of the three results and, if any is positive, exactly what to do next and how urgently.