I had an entire antibody test done in early january. the test came back with p24 present. Everything else was negative. The test was inconclusive and I was scared. I had a Hiv/0/2 abs-icma done which was non reactive <1.00 a negative test. Two months later I had the same antibody test done and p24 again showed up present. A RNA, real time pcr (graph) was done. Hiv-1 RNA not detected. My doctor scared me about the antibody test and I was sent to a Infection Disease Specialist.The specialist told me she didn't believe I was infected. She was unable to tell me why p24 was present. I have read that p24 is the first protein to show up. So I'm wondering if something will show up later. Just wondering if I'm ok?

Hello,

You are definitively and conclusively HIV negative. Indeterminate screening HIV-antibody tests are not uncommon and can be caused by a variety of conditions or situations. I've discussed these at length in the archives of this forum. Have a look. One of the most common causes is the presence of a cross-reacting antibody induced by a totally unrelated condition, such as pregnancy. Your follow-up tests provide overwhelming and irrefutable evidence of your HIV-negative status. Also, if your initial reactive p24 antibody was the result of early seroconversion, your follow-up test two months later would have demonstrated complete seroconversion rather than just the identical isolated p24.

Dr. Bob