HIV testing in the United States?

Many of the questions here seem to come from people who have been given a "positive" result of an ELISA test for HIV, before a Western Blot has been performed.

If this is the case, it strikes me as a remarkably stupid thing to do. It causes an enormous amount of unnecessary anxiety, given that the majority of positive ELISAs from low prevalence populations are false positives: a diagnosis of HIV can only be made on repeatedly postive ELISA PLUS Western Blot.

In Australia, all positive ELISAs are automatically referred on for Western Blot before results are released. If the WB is negative, the test is reported as "indeterminate - please send another sample after four weeks".

Is this what happens in the US too, or am I misinterpreting the questions I see here?

I'd also welcome answers from people who thought they'd received a "positive" HIV test, only to find on further testing that they are actually "HIV negative". How was this explained to you?

As some one who does HIV testing. With the use of Rapid Testing where we can give results in 20 minutes the test is only an Eliza test. If we have a preliminary positive it is automatically followed up with another test where an Eliza is done first followed by a western blot.

The reasoning for this is when we first started testing over 75% did not come back for their test results. With the rapid testing you can give a result right then and there, so a much higher return on knowing a person status.

If there is an indeterminate the person could be seroconverting and we ask to follow up asap.

I know of some false positives, this was before when we sent the tests to a lab to process. Due to a careless procedure in the lab a "splash" went from one slide to another to create the false positive.

Frankly, I'd be more freaked out if someone refused to release my results and referred me for another test.

Patients have the right to access their test results, even if it isn't good news.

dont know the answer to ur q but i just wanted to say i luv ur pic ;)