window period is 2 years ????? i need some info... That is nonsense. The Elisa Test and Western Blot Test which form the test for HIV1 and 2 are 98-99% reliable after a 3 months-13 weeks window period. After 5 months it would be a slam dunk certainty you are negative.Unless you are from or live in West Africa,the chances of acquiring it are remote! See below from the Center for Disease Control who are the experts in the fight against hiv/aids. It is rather long but you can see infoabout the SIX MONTHS window which is rather conservative in that it in reality it should be 3 months for the vast majority of people.
In the Western hemisphere, rare cases of HIV-2 infection have been reported from Brazil(16, 17), Canada (18), and the United States (5). Within the United States, CDC and others conduct surveillance for HIV-2, including serologic surveillance of blood donors and populations at increased risk of HIV-1 infection.
Since 1987, 32 persons with HIV-2 infection have been reported in the United States. Fifteen of these 32 were identified by serologic surveillance, and 17 were identified by case reports. Twenty-eight were residing in the northeastern United States, a frequent destination for West African immigrants and the area that has been most intensely surveyed using HIV-2-specific tests. No cases of HIV-2 infection have been reported among persons known to be IDUs or men reporting homosexual contact . More than 2,700 serum specimens that were reactive by HIV-1 EIA and indeterminate by HIV-1 Western blot have been tested for HIV-2 by either the New York City Health Department or the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene . HIV-2 infection was detected in specimens from 11 persons. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health identified two HIV-2-positive specimens among blood samples from 14,779 childbearing women. Positive HIV-2 specimens were detected among sera from two of 19,504 clients of sexually transmitted disease clinics, but in none of the specimens from 6,547 IDUs at drug-treatment centers In other studies of populations at increased risk for HIV-1 infection, no cases of HIV-2 infection have been reported .Of 15 U.S. residents found to be positive for HIV-2 infection through serologic surveillance, demographic information was available for seven; six were West Africans and one was the U.S.-born wife of an HIV-2 infected West African .
Most of the 17 persons identified by case reports were West Africans residing in the United States, but one was a U.S. resident of European origin and two were native-born U.S. citizens .All three non-West Africans had traveled to West Africa. One native-born U.S. citizen was diagnosed as HIV-2 infected after volunteering to donate blood in 1986. However, serologic surveillance of more than 26,000,000 blood donations collected between 1987 and 1991 has not revealed another instance of an HIV-2 infected U.S. blood donor.
MEDICAL COUNSELING
Infection with either HIV-1 or HIV-2 can cause immunosuppression and the development of AIDS .Although the period between infection and disease may be longer for persons with HIV-2 than for those with HIV-1 , the modes of transmission and, therefore, preventive counseling are the same for persons with either virus. Furthermore, because data are limited regarding the effectiveness of antiviral therapy for HIV-2 infection, persons with a confirmed antibody test for HIV-2 should be managed similarly to persons with a confirmed antibody test for HIV-1. Additional testing to define the virus type is of epidemiologic importance and should be considered for persons with epidemiologic risk factors for infection with HIV-2.
Based on the epidemiology and prevalence of HIV-2 in the United States, CDC/FDA makes the following recommendations for notification of persons with repeatedly reactive combination screening tests for HIV-1/HIV-2.
If the HIV-1 Western blot is positive, the person should be considered to be HIV infected and counseled and managed as if infected with HIV-1. In infants, detection of antibodies soon after birth may indicate either infection or the presence of maternal HIV antibodies. Seropositive infants require additional follow-up to determine their HIV status.
If the HIV-1 Western blot is negative and HIV-2 EIA is not repeatedly reactive, the person should be informed that the test results for HIV infection are negative.
If an HIV-2 EIA is repeatedly reactive for a person with a negative or indeterminate HIV-1 Western blot, post-test counseling will depend on the results of the HIV-2 supplemental test. A person should not be diagnosed or counseled about HIV-2 infection on the basis of a repeatedly reactive HIV-2 EIA alone. in the absence of known epidemiologic risk factors for HIV-2 infection, the vast majority of specimens from persons in the United States with a repeatedly reactive HIV-2 EIA and negative or indeterminate HIV-1 Western blot will represent false-positive results.
If the HIV-2 supplemental test is negative, a person whose specimen was negative by HIV-1 Western blot, in the absence of recognized epidemiologic risk factors, should be considered to be uninfected with HIV and counseled accordingly. A person whose specimen was indeterminate by HIV-1 Western blot should be followed as previously recommended .If the HIV-2 supplemental test is positive, the person should be considered to be HIV infected and counseled and managed accordingly. The case should be reported to the state department of public health as presumptive HIV-2 infection.
If the HIV-2 supplemental test is indeterminate, the person should have follow-up testing 6 MONTHS later to EXCLUDE the possibility of early infection with HIV-1 or HIV-2.
If an HIV-2 EIA is not repeatedly reactive for a person with an indeterminate HIV-1 Western blot, the person should be followed as previously recommended .
PS It's terrible that HIV has such a stigma that your friend can't come on anomynously to ask his/her own questions. For proper advice see your Doctor or one of the centres that deal with this type of thing. get tested again |
