What is HIV testing?
HIV Testing is performed to determine whether someone is infected with a virus human immunodeficiency (HIV), a virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Sexually active individuals, intravenous drug users and healthcare workers should regularly obtain HIV testing, ideally once a year. There are many different types of tests used to find the presence of HIV in the body and there are anonymous testing options for people who want to be tested but are concerned about their privacy. Antibodies are looking for the presence of antibodies against HIV, suggesting that the patient is infected. Antigen tests are looking for antigens on the surface of the virus that lead to the development of antibodies, while PCR tests are looking for real RNA and DNA virus. Antibodies are those that are in most common uses.
When testing HIV, a sample of blood, urine or oral mucus is taken and passes through a number of tests in the laboratory. In the case of testing antibodies, laboratory staff most often useAn immunosorbent test associated with the enzyme (ELISA), which is approximately 95% accurate. Výhodou ELISA je, že velmi zřídka generuje falešný negativní výsledek. However, it may generate false positive, so if Elisa indicates the presence of infection, the test should be confirmed by repetition or the sample can be performed through the western blot or indirect immunofluorescent test to confirm the presence of HIV.
patients do not start to create antibodies known as seroconverting, up to about two to eight weeks after exposure, and can take up to three months to show antibodies with HIV testing. For this reason, people should wait for testing only at least eight weeks after a suspicious exposure if the result is negative, it should repeat the test after three months. The period in which people are infected, but antibodies are not yet present, are known as the "period of the window" and it is important to realize that people in the window of the window could still have HIV, even if the tests are negative.
Existují testy, které lze během oknaUse to search for a virus. PCR tests that are looking for a real virus are very expensive but very accurate and can be used by people who want aggressive treatment to solve the virus. During this period, antigen tests can also be used.
HIV testing can result in positive, negative or inconclusive results. The positive result suggests that someone is infected with HIV and that the test was confirmed by the second method. Positive results do not mean that the patient has AIDS, or that he or she will necessarily develop AIDS, but mean that the patient needs special medical care and is at risk of passing virus on others. Negative results show that someone is not infected or seroconverted. Unnatural results usually indicate that someone should be re -tested in a few weeks because the sample could be contaminated or the patient could be seroconverted at the time the sample was taken.
fast tests can generate results in approximately 20 minutes. Turn other tests, including kits forHome collection usually lasts several days or weeks because they are processed in laboratories outside the workplace. Some regions will be accepted by RUSH orders for HIV testing, in which case a fee will be charged.