These tests can also help diagnose long-term (chronic) infection.
Most people diagnosed with hepatitis C find out that they already have long-term, chronic infection.
Most people who get hepatitis C will have a long-term infection that may never go away, even with treatment.
Getting tested can lead to early treatment, which may help prevent a long-term infection.
But in some people it leads to long-term (chronic) infection and serious liver problems.
This test cannot tell the difference between an acute or long-term infection.
People with cystic fibrosis are highly prone to long-term bacterial infections.
Actinomycosis is a long-term (chronic) bacterial infection that commonly affects the face and neck.
But some people are not able to clear the hepatitis B virus from the body, which causes a long-term infection.
This is because a small number of people who are not treated get a long-term infection.