Teach you how to interpret HIV antibody test results

AIDS has become a highly contagious disease in the world. Sexual transmission is the main route of transmission of AIDS, while other routes include blood transmission and mother-to-child transmission. So how should we view the results of AIDS testing?

1. Negative result:

(1) Refers to the person being tested being in the window period. After HIV enters the human body, it takes a period of time for HIV antibodies to be produced. During this period, the antibody test is negative. This period of time is the window period, which is also the shortest time from HIV infection to detection. The window period is based on the six-week theory of Professor Cao Yunzhen, Director of the Institute of Clinical Virology, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Doctor of Medicine. The general window period is 2 to 6 weeks, and conservatively 12 weeks. Starting from the date of the high-risk event, testing can be started 2 weeks later. If you get a negative result, you must first determine whether the window period has passed. If it is determined that the last high-risk behavior has passed the window period from the time of blood draw for testing, then it can be basically determined that the person being tested is not infected with HIV. If the window period has not passed or high-risk behavior occurs again after the blood draw for testing, it cannot be determined that the person being tested is not infected with HIV.

(2) The person being tested is not infected with HIV. If the test result is negative and the last high-risk behavior has passed the window period, then it can be determined that the person being tested is not infected with HIV.

2. Positive result:

(1) A positive HIV antibody test result indicates that a person is infected with HIV and is contagious.

(2) A positive HIV antibody test result does not necessarily mean that a person has contracted AIDS, nor does it indicate what stage of disease progression the patient is in. To determine the progression of the disease, further CD4 cell count and HIV load tests are required based on the patient's clinical symptoms.

(3) For infants under 18 months old, it is not advisable to blindly judge that the infant is infected with HIV based on the positive result of HIV antibody test, because the immunoglobulin G of HIV antibody-positive mothers can enter the fetus through the placenta. The antibodies will remain in the infant's body for 9 to 12 months or longer. If the HIV antibody test is negative within 9 to 12 months after the baby is born, HIV infection can be ruled out. If the HIV antibody test is positive, HIV antibody test should be performed again at 18 months, and HIV infection can be ruled out only if the result is negative.

3. Uncertain results:

Refers to the result of the HIV antibody test confirmation test, which is neither negative nor positive, but somewhere in between. Those with uncertain results are generally recommended to retest after 3 months.

There are generally three reasons for uncertain results:

(1) This refers to the window period of infection, when the time from HIV entry into the body to detection is short, so no detectable antibodies have formed in the serum.

(2) Refers to the stage when AIDS progresses to the terminal stage and antibody levels decrease.

(3) There may be other reasons, such as certain malignant diseases, pregnancy, blood transfusion or organ transplantation, etc. The body will produce some antibodies, whose reactions are similar to those caused by certain protein antibodies of HIV, but the content is lower.