HIV TESTING: ANTIBODY TESTS
Posted by adminIn most clinical settings, testing for HIV involves a test called the ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, as a first step. This is a test for antibody, or the body’s immune response to infection. It can be performed on blood or saliva in a medical setting as well as on blood through a home testing kit (available in most pharmacies and drug stores). The testing procedure for samples collected in the home test is the same as that for samples taken in a clinic.
This test is very sensitive. Most infected people (about 90 percent) will show a positive ELISA test about three months after the time of possible infection. Everyone who is positive should show a positive test six months after infection, although very rarely a positive result may take longer to show up. The risk of a false negative test after six months from infection is 0.001-0.3 percent, depending on the number of people infected in a particular geographic area.
People who do not form antibody may have a rare deficiency in antibody formation, called agammaglobulinemia.
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