I'm a 22 yrs old in south Africa woman in tested positive in 2002 after exposure. i had maningitis. then tested positive after six months. in 2005 after good health went to test and tested negative on oralquick test, then tested after 4 months again, lab results were tested negative. i tested this year again the results were indeterminate on oralquick, then the lab results came back positive, and tested positive after six months, what could have coused the negative results if i'm positive?

Hello,

This is a very confusing situation that I am not going to be able to sort out over the Internet. Perhaps your initial positive test in 2002 was a false positive and you remained HIV negative throughout the 2005 testing period, but then seroconverted this year, initially showing an indeterminate result and subsequently testing positive. That would be one possible explanation, but I, of course, have no way of determining if this really happened. What's important now is not so much what happened in the past, but rather what's going on today and what will happen in the future. I urge you to work closely with an HIV specialist. He or she will confirm your status, one way or the other, and evaluate your immune system (CD4 count) and how actively your virus is reproducing (viral load). He or she will also advise you on treatment options.

Good luck!

Dr. Bob