How many years can hiv hide in your body? Is that possible? Can you be a carrier of hiv and test negative?

HIV can be in the body for upto 10 years without showing any symptoms, this occurs when the person is extremely healthy and have a very strong immune system..!!

But it cannot hide so much from the lab tests.. Lab test like elisa and western blot take 6weeks to become positive... This period in which the person has hiv virus and is not positive is called "window period". But the latest tests like RT PCR, P24 assay have reduced the window period to 10 days...!! So any person who has caught hiv can only test negative till 6 weeks if elisa is done and only 10 days if the latest tests are done...

There is nothing like carrier state for hiv.. if it comes, it kills...!!

Someone could have HIV for up to 6 years before seeing any symptoms. Some people have flu like symptoms within a few months after getting infected, but there is no way to tell the difference between flu symptoms from actual flu and flu symtoms from HIV infection.

Testing: Yes, you can have HIV and test negative for a period of time. HIV testing is designed to detect antibodies to the virus. The body produces antibodies in response to an infection. It does take some time for the body to produce enough antibodies to be detected in testing. The ONLY way to find out if you have HIV is to get an HIV test.

More than 98% of people who have HIV would test positive within 3 months. In very rare cases, it could take up to 6 months for someone to test positive. (In those cases, the person's immune system is damaged by something before HIV infection, so their bodies take longer to produce the antibodies.

The problem is that many people who are at risk assume that if they or their partners look and feel healthy, they are not infected. In

I will try my best to answer your questions. BTW, I am a supporter of a non-profit called Medwiser, that tries to answer questions for people about HIV.

Here are the quick answers: HIV can "hide" for up to ten years or more, but an hiv test will be able to detect iinfection in most people pretty fast. To be exact 97% in 3 months after infection. And near 100% in 6 months after infection. As far as testing negative, you can be HIV positive and test negative. You need to get retested if you test negative. If you have symptoms your doctor might recommend a more sensitive test.

Here is the longer version: So the answer to your first question is that HIV can "hide" or remain "latent" in one's body for 10 years or more. But what is meant by "hide" is that it usually does not cause symptoms that are associated with AIDS for a period of time. This time varies from person and is associated with symptoms. The exception to this is that people who are infected with HIV often have a flu-like illness after being infected. This usually happens anywhere from 5-30 days after exposure. Some people think it is a cold. Others dont have any symptoms. To answer your second question. While the HIV test is very accurate 99.9...You can test HIV negative, when in fact you are positive. This is called a false-negative. One way this can happen is that the virus goes to very low levels following an exposure. The test usually measures your bodys response (antibodies) which take a while for your body to create at high levels. If you have taken a test within the first three months and are negative, you should consider taking another test at some point. Probably, in 4-8 weeks. However, if you display symptoms and your doctor suspects acute infection he may order another test that tests for HIV RNA (similar to DNA) that will detect HIV before your antibodies show up. Hope this is helpful. If you are looking for more information, writers and volunteers from across the world are building content on medwiser.com, medwiser.org. You can support their effort or participate. Also on medwiser.com are cool videos, games and pictures. They are even building an online social support network for people affected by HIV/AIDS. So feel free to learn more about it at medwiser.com or support Medwiser at medwiser.org. Hope this answer is helpful!

HIV can undetectable for up to 6 months, usually by 3 months.