If a person has hepatitis and not hiv and get a hiv test why does it show positive i'm so confused?

i asked my doctor that and he didn't even say a word about it....

this is a random question i am inqusitive i do not have hepatitis or hiv..i was searching things through the internet i make leaflet for young people of aids and std awareness and this question has come up and i would be grateful if someone could answer it ..thankyou

Hey Hep carrier, let's not get into a tizzy. Hep C is NOT the only strain of viral hep in existence.

As it so happens, Hepatitis B sometimes does cross react with HIV on the ELISA test. btw, the previous asker gave a FABULOUS explanation of how the tests work. Before we had HIV testing, CDC officials debated using the Hep B test as preliminary test for HIV, despite lower sensitivity to HIV.

The root of cross-reactivity is in the concepts of sensitivity and specificity. These are measures of test accuracy.

A highly sensitive test picks up a lot of positives, including false positives. A highly specific test eliminates a lot of negatives, including a lot of false negatives.

So ideally, you want a test that is highly specific and sensitive, but balanced enough so that you pick up all the true positives and rule out all the true negatives.

The HIV ELISA test is very sensitive, so it picks up a lot of false positives. Because the immunoblot is expensive and time-consuming to run (though highly accurate), it's used as a back up to the quick and easy ELISA.

Ask him to explain it again...Insist on it...
And more carefully..
It is his duty, obligation , responsibility....JOB...
Shame on him...

you need to start wearing a condom,and then switch doctor.

It doesn't. Call it urban myth, call it an unscrupulous liar, or a horny SOB that just doesn't care who's life is destroyed. A positive Hep C test will not trigger a false positive for HIV. Quite often intravenous users will test positive for both, co-infection from a dirty needle.
I've had HCV (Hep C) for 30+ years and have taken HIV tests just to keep track of exactly what I'm dealing with. Never a positive.
I'd be leery of any intimate encounters with anyone telling this story to you. Nothing like HIV to promote abstinence in a person. If that person is immature, or just doesn't care, do you suppose they'd be capable of trying to explain away a positive test?
Sure, there's a law against it, but let's get real here, many figure they'll be dead anyway. Watch out for the sharks, they swim with all of us.

When testing for HIV is done, there are two basic methods; ELISA and Western Blot. ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) is a test that uses microtiter wells. The little wells are coated with HIV antigen. When the patient's serum is added, it is allowed to incubate, then is washed and an enzyme labled conjugate (antihuman antibody) is added, then an enzyme substrate is added. The intensity of color development is directly proportional to the amount of antibody present.

A Western Blot uses immunoelectrophoresis and immunoblot technology. Viral proteins are electrophoresed through a gel. The protein is then transferred to nitrocelluolose paper. The paper is cut into thin strips. Each strip contains a full complement of HIV antigen bands. Serum is overlaid onto the strip. After incubation and washing, enzyme labeld conjugate is added followed by enzyme substrate. Insoluable colored bands will appear on the strip, rerpresenting the antibodies present in the sample. If there is HIV antibody present there is a specific banding pattern the tester looks for.

The ELISA is used for screening purposes. Where I work, if the ELISA is positive, a sample must be sent off and tested by Western Blot, for it is very specific for the HIV antibody. Because HIV is a virus, it can go into a dormant or perhaps an incubation phase before being detected. It is highly recommended that a 2nd sample about 4-6 weeks be sent for Western Blot for testing.

Hello,

I'll keep this simple. First there was alot of valuable points from others.... If a person with hepatitis and goes for an hiv test the probability is that the individual will test positive not all but the majority.

We are talking response to body by viruses entering the body.....I know this for a fact or it has happened to someone i know ...who is in the medicine field....he had a cold went for an hiv test guess what it came back positive he had a test few weeks later it came back negative...so if a cold can have that much affect on a hiv test what do you think hepatitis will do ?

Remember nothing is ever certain....