AIDS is already a highly prevalent epidemic in the world. Sexual transmission is the main route of HIV transmission (about 70%), with other transmission occurring through blood and mother-to-child transmission. HIV, also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks T4 lymphocytes, the most important part of the body’s immune system. HIV itself does not cause any disease, but when the immune system is destroyed by HIV, the body is unable to fight off life-threatening germs due to low resistance, resulting in a variety of extremely rare and incurable infections and tumors. The chances of successful treatment in general are relatively small.
There is no effective vaccine to prevent HIV, so the most important thing is to take preventive measures. When you are tested for HIV after high-risk behavior, can you read the results of the HIV antibody test when you get the report card? There are 3 types of results: negative, positive and indeterminate. The majority of cases are negative or positive, and there are very few cases of uncertainty.
1.Negative results: (1) refers to the window period, after HIV enters the body, it takes a period of time to produce HIV antibodies, during which the antibody test is negative, this period is the window period, which is also the shortest time from the infection to the detection of HIV. The window period is based on the six-week theory of Professor Cao Yunzhen, M.D., director of the Institute of Clinical Virus Research at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and is generally 2 to 6 weeks, with a conservative 12 weeks.
The test can be started after 2 weeks from the date of high risk. If a negative result is obtained, the first thing to do is to determine whether the window period has passed. (2) means that the person tested is not infected with HIV. If the test result is negative and the last high-risk behavior has passed the window period, then it can be determined that the person tested is not infected with HIV. 2, positive results: (1) HIV antibody test results are positive, indicating that a person is infected with HIV, and is infectious.
(2) A positive HIV antibody test result does not mean that a person has AIDS, nor does it indicate at which stage of disease development the patient is. To determine the progress of the disease, further CD4 cell count and HIV load test should be done according to the clinical symptoms of the patient.
(3) For infants less than 18 months old, it is not possible to blindly determine that the infant is infected with HIV based on a positive HIV antibody test result, because immunoglobulin G from an HIV-positive mother can enter the fetus through the placenta. The antibodies will remain in the baby’s body for 9 to 12 months or longer. The HIV antibody test within 9 to 12 months after birth can exclude HIV infection if the baby is negative, and HIV antibody test can be done again at 18 months if the baby is positive and the result is negative to exclude HIV infection.
3.Uncertain result: It refers to a result between positive and negative when the test result is not negative and not enough for positive standard when the confirmation test of HIV antibody test is performed. It is generally recommended to retest after 3 months if there is an inconclusive result.
There are three reasons for an inconclusive result: (1) The infection is in the window period, from the time HIV enters the body to the time of testing, and therefore no detectable antibodies have been formed in the serum.
(2) It means that AIDS has progressed to the end stage and the antibody level has decreased.
(3) It may be due to other reasons, such as: certain malignant diseases, pregnancy, blood transfusion or organ transplantation, etc. The body may produce some antibodies whose reactions are similar to those caused by antibodies to certain proteins of HIV and at lower levels.