How long should one wait after a possible exposure to test for HIV infection? I thought the period for the development of detectable antibodies was three months, but a friend tells me that the ELISA test now can detect antibodies as early as a month after exposure. True?
How early can the PCR test detect infection?
Someone please inform and explain.
StrangeTravel
I think this is true, but if you test negative you should get retested in 6 months or so to be sure. The ELISA test is very sensitive but not totally specific, so all positive ELISA tests are followed up with a confirmation with Western Blot. I believe the PCR is usually done on HIV positive patients to test for viral load, as an indicator of disease progression.
hellokitty78, med tech in training
Seroconversion periods vary, but for HIV most (95%) adults will seroconvert in 3 months. After 6 months 99%+ will seroconvert.
So a test at 3 months after the time of suspected infection is a good indication of HIV status, but it’s not a great one. Get tested twice- at 3 months and 6 months. Of course you have to play as safely as possible (abstaining would be best) during this 6 month period, or all the test results will be meaningless.
I think this is true, but if you test negative you should get retested in 6 months or so to be sure. The ELISA test is very sensitive but not totally specific, so all positive ELISA tests are followed up with a confirmation with Western Blot. I believe the PCR is usually done on HIV positive patients to test for viral load, as an indicator of disease progression.
hellokitty78, med tech in training
Oh?
" As ELISA requires specialized equipment, blood samples need to be sent to a laboratory and the result will be available only after several days or weeks. To cut short this waiting period, RAPID TESTS , that give results in 5 to 30 minutes, are increasingly being used the world over. The accuracy of rapid tests is stated to be as good as that of ELISA. Though rapid tests are more expensive, researchers have found them to be more cost effective in terms of the number of people covered and the time the tests take."
http://www.youandaids.org/AboutHiv/diagnosis.asp
" Most doctors say you should wait 4-6 weeks to get tested for HIV after a risky sexual encounter or other possible exposure. But a recent study suggests that a combination of tests could shorten that waiting period, allowing doctors to make a diagnosis and start treatment earlier."
http://www.roche-diagnostics.com/healthinfo/hiv_aids/looking_like_other/early_hiv_undetected.html