Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most dreaded diseases. Why? HIV infection is currently a global pandemic that health authorities from all nations are greatly concerned about. Aside from the disease having no known cure, HIV infection will eventually progress to full-blown AIDS. That is why HIV testing is now being recommended for people from all walks of life.

There are many ways that HIV testing is performed. Most of the tests are done through a blood screen. Some of the tests to determine HIV include the HIV antibody screen, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and the P24 antigen test. The HIV antibody test is the most preferred by many people because it is accurate and inexpensive. You might wonder how such test works. If you are infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection by producing antibodies. The HIV antibody screen will look for such HIV antibodies in the blood as well as in saliva and urine. In contrast, the PCR test works by determining the genetic material of the HIV, rather than the antibodies. This is the reason why this screen is also called the HIV nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) and viral load test. Meanwhile, the P24 antigen test will look for the P24 antigen. P24 antigen is the protein that commonly provokes an antibody response when a person is infected with HIV.

Modern technology has made HIV testing a lot easier and quicker. There are currently available rapid tests wherein the results are back in just 30 minutes. These tests are performed through blood or oral fluid tests. A confirmatory screen is needed if you are found to be positive in the rapid screen. There are also HIV tests which are called fourth generation tests. Such tests combine P24 antigen tests and antibody tests for more accurate and quicker test results. If you are sexually active and have multiple sexual partners, it is a good idea to have a HIV test. You can also undergo such a test if you are an intravenous drug user, a man having sex with other men or just simply concerned that you might have been infected with the disease.

Tags: AIDS, HIV Nucleic, HIV Testing

This entry was posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:00 am and is filed under HIV Testing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.