I have been engaging in an unprotected sexual intercourse with my partner for almost 6 years. She has always been doing her hiv tests all these years and they always came negative all the time. I decided to go with her the other day and mine came positive and hers negative still. The test that i did with her is called a blood rapid test that took only about 10 min or so. How could i be positive??

Hi,

There are two possibilities:

1. If you placed yourself at risk for HIV (unprotected sex with someone other than your HIV-negative wife or shared intravenous drug paraphernalia with an HIV positive person), you could have contracted the virus.

2. Your "positive" rapid test is in reality a "false positive." It's important to note that a positive rapid test is only considered a preliminary result. It requires confirmation with a more specific test, such as a Western Blot, before the HIV screening can be considered a true positive result. You will need repeat testing, including the confirmatory Western Blot, if your preliminary rapid test (or ELISA) is again reactive (positive). You can read much more about HIV diagnostic tests and about false positives in the archives of this forum.

Dr. Bob