Testing for AIDS

If one fears they may have been infected with HIV or AIDS, it is critical that they undergo the proper testing as soon as possible. Thankfully, many types of accurate medical tests are now available to determine if actual treatment is necessary. After infection first occurs, it may take anywhere from two weeks to six months for antibodies of HIV to appear in the bloodstream. During this time, a person is still capable of transmitting the disease, even though the test will not be able to detect any antibodies in the blood. Tests to detect the virus are usually done at six weeks, three months and six months to determine possible infection.

When to test

A P24 elisa kit is usually the first test of choice utilized in order to discover if one is HIV positive. If test results indicate that HIV antibodies are present, then the test is recommended to be administered twice for accurate confirmation. In most cases however, if test results are negative, no further testing is needed. After the first few weeks of infection, the odds of a test providing false results are actually quite minimal. Only a very small sample of blood is necessary for this test in order to detect the presence of HIV antibodies. The testing process itself may take anywhere from three to four days to complete and return results.

Determining results

The precise method of undergoing an HIV p24 elisa test involves lab technicians processing a person’s blood to obtain the serum. This serum is then applied to a plastic plate, which contains pure, inactive antigens. When the patient’s serum is applied to the plate, HIV antibodies, if they exist, will attach to the antigens. The plate is then washed with a solution, so that only the antibodies and antigens are present. Then, an enzyme is used to treat the sample, which will attach to any antibodies. This will lead to a chemical reaction, which will in turn cause a color change if a person is indeed HIV positive.

Further testing

Test results for a P24 elisa kit are reliable nearly 100 percent of the time. However, false readings are possible, though extremely rare. Conditions such as syphilis, lupus, and Lyme disease could all lead to the possibility of a false positive test. A positive elisa test can be followed by a Western blot test in order to confirm laboratory results. A patient should expect lab results within one to two weeks. A positive Western blot test will indicate that a person is clearly infected with HIV. However, if this test comes back negative, it can prove that an elisa test initially resulted in a false positive outcome.