Answers from Hotlines - TheBody.com's Bulletin Boards

Dear Hotline,
Q: I may have had a possible exposure for contracting HIV when can I test to have a conclusive test result?
ANSWER:
You can receive a relilable HIV antibody test anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks after exposure.
The best course of action would be to wait as close to that 12 week mark as possible.

Q:I have been tested with a Third Generation Elisa after 3 months is this conclusive?
ANSWER
Yes.

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Hello, Thank you for writing and our apologies for the delay in our response. It seems as though you are curious about the length of time before someone can test for HIV. It sounds like it can be frustrating in not getting a definitive answer. Sex, and HIV can be very emotional and it's important to have support. Your question is a difficult one to answer. As you probably already know, the majority of people who become infected will develop enough HIV antibodies by four weeks; the small remainder can take up to 3 months. As this is enough time now to capture virtually everyone, it's not even clear how many people might make up the rare case that takes longer. Since we're not a medical hotline, we couldn't begin to guess as to what might cause an immune system to take longer than the standard three months to be detected. It seems as if you are looking for a more scientific reason but that may make it more confusing. However if you are interested, you can checkout the American Medical Associations web page. In your email you sounded anxious to get this information in a speedy way. Has anything happened leaving you so anxious? What are you feeling about the answers you have received thus far?
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Hello, It sounds like you're still pretty concerned about these results. It is confusing to have different information, especially from different sources. As we mentioned in our previous response, >HIV tests look for antibodies that form after infection; many people >develop >enough antibodies to be detectable about a month after infection. A small >minority can take up to three months. By three months, essentially everyone >(something like 99.9%) will develop enough antibodies to be detected. Not testing positive (i.e., not developing enough antibodies to be detectable) until sometime after three months is considered very, very rare.

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Hello,
You should have received a reliable test at three months. Unless you are chronically ill, have an immune problem, are pregnant, or have had chemotherapy in the past 6 months, you should have received a reliable test!
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The CDC recommendation for testing at 6 months is for those who are very worried about having been infected with hIV and do not trust that the negative result they received at the 3 month test was conclusive. Persons who might be in this category are individuals who had vaginal bleeding after intercorse with a person they know has HIV/AIDS. The CDC recommendation goes on further to say that 6 month testing could be considered for those whose physician feels it is warranted; often for a patient who has suspicious symptoms. In a way the recommendation for testing at 6 months is for piece of mind, but a very tiny number are slow to seroconvert and do test positive at 6 months. When we say known exposure we mean that an individual has engaged in a risk behavior with someone who he/she knows has HIV/AIDS. Your initial note said that the partner you were with has HIV, so that incident was a known exposure. I can not tell from your note what your level of concern is, so my suggestion to you is to discuss the need for a 6 month test with a health professional.
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Thanks for your e-mail. It sounds like you're pretty concerned about something that happened and your subsequent test results, and you've made an effort to be well informed about testing. From what you have said, your test results sound quite reliable. Your questions about timing relate to the window period - the period of time between infection and the point where an HIV test will show up positive. HIV tests look for antibodies that form after infection; many people develop enough antibodies to be detectable about a month after infection. A small minority can take up to three months. By this time, essentially everyone (something like 99.9%) will develop enough antibodies to be detected. Since the three-month window catches essentially everyone, you can be confident of a negative test result at that point.

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Unfortunately there are no absolute certainties in life. In a one-off exposure like you experienced we regard a negative test at 3months as evidence of NON-infection and don't advise further follow-up in the absence of further exposure. If you want added reassurance, have another test in 3months time; but you face a much greater risk by having another unsafe exposure.
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Thank you for visiting our website. A three month test is very accurate. At 3 months, 99.9% of the population will have developed antibodies to HIV if they were truly infected. The remaining 0.1% of the population may take longer to develop antibodies due to poor immune system, including autoimmune diseases. The only reasons that an additional test would be recommended would be if the test came back as "inconclusive", or you did not wait the 3 months or you had an additional exposure during the 3 month waiting period. Otherwise, the test is accurate and you can move on with your life.

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Let me start with the easier answer first. You will not become HIV
infected by kissing someone. Though it would be statistically
possible (a miniscule chance) for someone to infect through a kiss,
this would require BOTH partners to be bleeding or excreting puss
severely from the mouth, and for the infected person's thick fluids
(blood or puss) to get pushed directly into the other person's mouth
wound, with no saliva diluting it first. Saliva has numerous
anti-HIV activities, you see. The CDC admits that it knows of only
one POSSIBLE infection by a kiss, and even this case looks extremely
dubious.

The next question you ask regards whether a test result at three
months is conclusive. Alas, there's no set answer on this, only
odds. Scientists refer to a "confidence interval," which means the
amount of time that would have to pass before a set percentage of HIV
infected people would test positive. With the ELISA III test, which
we all use, they say that the average person will test positive after
about 22 or 25 days (roughly three weeks). By this they mean that
they have a confidence interval of 6 to 41 days, during which time
95% of infected people would test positive if they had a test.

Then they have another confidence interval that would ensure 100% of
infected people would have tested positive. This one averages to
three months, but the "outliers" do extend beyond that. Outliers
refers to bizarre cases of people who don't respond normally to the
virus.

So, if you tested negative at three months you are more than 95% certain that the test result is accurate. Only
a tiny percentage of people would need longer than these three months
to show positive.

Test one more time at six months if it will give you peace of mind.
Remember, HIV is extremely hard to catch, so be willing to accept
that you may have lucked out this time.

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