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face it, there are false negatives
#751 - 03/30/00 04:15 PM
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Face it...there are false negatives
I know of a number of people who have had repeated hiv Elisa
tests come back negative over a period of years only to
subsequently come down with an opportunistic infection like PCP
and then test positive. It happens. I think these rambling
hypotheses are just that....guesses. I think that it is foolish
not to face up to the fact that there are people who are such
lowlevel carriers that they do not show up positive on the
antibody test for a period of years, allowing them to infect
others. I know this is true because I have met these people at
the clinic I am treated at...one of the premier clinical trial
sites. The doctors and staff there have confirmed to me that this
is so. In the next several years there is going to be a new wave
of infections of people who previously were tested and have been
subsequently demonstrated to be positive via infections that
could not have been acquired any other way, like PCP. People that
want to bury their heads in the sand are certainly welcome to do
so, they always have, but the truth will eventually emerge, as it
always does.
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Reply To Face it...there are false negatives
It is very possible that these people who mysteriously test
positive do so because of an unreported recent exposure, as
opposed to some strange conditions that delay or suppress
antibody production. The vast majority of people will test
positive after infection by the 3 month mark, with some taking up
to 6 months. No test is 100% perfect, but statiscally speaking,
the EIA/WB or IFA is a very sensitive and specific test, and does
a relatively great job of identifying infected individuals.
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Many People Test Negative Erroneously Before Testing Positive
It happens. If you don't want to face it, then don't but don't
deny that it happens or try to rationalize it away by saying they
didn't report their exposures. That is an insult to the people
that this happens to...responsible people who did the best they
could to test early and be treated early but for whatever reason,
their bodies didn't make antibodies yet. It happens. I have seen
it and I bet a number of other people who read this page have met
people and know of people to whom it has happened also.
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Of course it happens...
Sure some people have false negatives, the production of
antibodies to hiv can be very different from one person to
another that is why it is crucial to test at least 6 month after
the last possible exposure to the virus before saying
"conclusively" that someone is not infected! It is a fact, but it
is also a statistical fact that the average window period for the
EIA is 25 days. And that by 41 days 95% of people with normal
immune systems who have been infected will show positive. Give or
take a couple of days, by eight weeks anyone who tests negative
is PROBABLY not infected. Since hiv is a chronic disease there is
no chance to take so if you believe you might have been infected
always pratice safe sex before the ultimate 6 months test to be
sure, but if you test negative after 8 weeks and are a "average"
human being, and since "most" of us are, the chances are, you are
not infected. As for people you have had false negatives, there
have been documented cases of people took more than 8 weeks to
show positive on the EIA (about 5%, but then again most of those
cases were related to people with a burdened immune system from
drug use, diseases, multiple partners making time of infection
difficult to pin point). As far as testing positive after six
month there are cases but they are so rare they are the subject
of medical articles.
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i have tested negative after 16 weeks, or 112 days. the encounter in question is the only possible exposure since that time. however, i am and have been sick (for a while). there is another test in the works now and this one is at 21 weeks. i feel very concerned that i do indeed have this (and have been advised by a doctor about false negatives) and so i will let you know the outcome. i WAS an otherwise healthy person, until this. of course, i hope you are right. pray for me. thanks.
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Please let us know the rest of your story. Were you negative? If so, did you discover the cause of your illness?
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True face it. There are rare types like o and m that do not show up on an elysa test 100%. The ELYSA tests do not find type 2 100% either. A lymphocyte panel 1 test that breaks down the cd4 and the cd8 test will show if one has AIDS. I have recently gotten one of the tests done and should get my results by Monday. I did this because of symptoms that are associated with AIDS. Swollen lymph nodes often, general itchiness, general pain, thrush, and unexpalained eczema on my arms. I have heard of peptide tests that can find out these rare types or strains.
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