The problem of AIDS and HIV has become very urgent today, and all over the world. Doctors know firsthand how many people (almost half a million) die from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome every year. AIDS and HIV are two different diagnoses. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is an already progressive disease that becomes fatal for many infected, HIV is only a virus that allows people to live with it for a very long time and be carriers of the disease.
In simple terms, with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, immunity is completely absent - antibodies that fight infection, viruses and bacteria that enter the bloodstream. A person diagnosed with AIDS can die from the most harmless cold. HIV and AIDS are not transmitted by rodents, insect bites or personal hygiene items. The main binder for infection is blood and semen. The only way to be sure whether antigens are present is to donate blood anonymously for AIDS and HIV. Moreover, you can pass the analysis at will - anonymously or without hiding your data.
After the decryption is carried out and the results are known, it will be possible to find out whether the result is positive or not. Even if the person does not lead a promiscuous sex life and is not antisocial (does not use drugs and alcohol), the indicator and the result may be positive, but doubtful.
Before taking an HIV test anonymously, it is necessary to take a clinical blood test and then make a conclusion - whether it is questionable or not. That is, it is possible to determine the immunodeficiency virus - negative or HIV-positive only after donating blood anonymously. After the decryption is made and the results are processed, it will be possible to draw any conclusions.
Antibody counts for a false positive HIV test (anonymously) will be higher than normal. But according to some indicators, it is impossible to say that a person has a virus. In 50% of cases, the indicators can be overestimated for completely different reasons.
Many people are interested in the question - how long does it take to get the results and what is the shelf life of the analysis. It doesn't matter if the analysis is anonymous or open, it is valid for 5-6 months. And the question of how long to wait for the result can be answered unequivocally - 2-3 weeks.
HIV diagnosis is carried out in several stages:
- enzyme immunoassay (ELISA);
- method of immunoblotting.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for HIV is carried out in order to identify the total spectrum of antibodies against the antigens of the immunodeficiency virus. This method is screening. It detects suspicious antibodies and weeds out healthy ones. But this blood test is not enough. It is at this stage that false positives occur.
Immunoblotting is a more detailed blood test for HIV. With its help, the fact of infection is confirmed. Its essence is the destruction of the virus into antigens (ionized amino acid residues that have a different charge). Using electrophoresis (isolation of plasma and red blood cells from the blood) and further examining the serum, doctors determine whether antibodies are present that interact with the immunodeficiency virus. This method is much more effective, but it also cannot provide guarantees.
False positive results for the immunodeficiency virus are quite common, literally shocking the person donating blood. The fact is that there are a lot of diseases that can provoke a false positive result.
It should be noted that the ELISA for AIDS can only be called preliminary testing for the immunodeficiency virus and there is no need to rely on its description. In most cases, it is offered to take it for a general clinical picture. Only after the second stage of the test is it possible to anonymously verify whether the questionable blood result is for AIDS, HIV or not.
Many people ask how long the research itself takes. It takes 15-20 minutes to collect blood. For research, only disposable medical supplies are used. By the way, it is much easier to get infected with the immunodeficiency virus in a hairdresser or in a movie theater than in a medical laboratory.
Even the most modern equipment is not always able to determine the presence of antibodies and antigens of HIV infection. And it's not about the equipment itself, but about the period of multiplication of virus cells in the blood. In some cases, especially after passing the ELISA for AIDS and the immunodeficiency virus, people get a false positive result. But this does not mean that the person actually has AIDS. To do this, it is necessary to pass repeated tests after a while (the shelf life of the result is valid for about six months). The reasons why the result can become false positive, and it does not matter whether it is anonymous or not, are violations of the rules for donating blood. Ordinary seeds or previously eaten spicy, sour, fried foods, and even sparkling mineral water, especially alkaline water, such as Borjomi, can provoke a questionable result, no matter how many are eaten - a lot or a little.
Only highly qualified medical laboratories can guarantee anonymous and accurate research. But in order to make sure once and for all that there is no AIDS or HIV virus, it is better to repeat the study in six months. It is no longer necessary for doctors, but for the people themselves. The window period is present in all people. It is also called the incubation period, and immediately after infection, it is impossible to detect an immunodeficiency virus. There is no need to stop if the result is positive, it may be false positive.
How the incubation period of HIV qualifies
The initial stage of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus practically in 99% does not manifest itself in any way. It depends on the general state of immunity and the body as a whole. It may take a long time for a person to develop symptoms that confirm the presence of HIV antigens. But on the other hand, a person remains a source of infection for other people. Whether HIV is present can be determined only if you pass an ELISA 3-6 months after the actual infection. The window period is a time period. Its beginning is the penetration of the virus into the blood, the end is the detection of the virus. Each person has a different window period. How long is the window period? Approximately 2 to 5-6 months. And it depends on this period how accurate the research will be. It is during this period of time that the results, under the influence of some factors, can be false positive.
HIV false positive test (anonymous)
The ideal HIV test is 100% accurate in determining whether there is a virus or not. But for a number of reasons, the result can be questionable. Today, anonymous analysis at home is considered very fashionable and widespread. This provides people with complete confidentiality, but cannot protect them from mistakes. It is at home that test results often become false positives.
In order to dispel doubts, it is better to pass the ELISA analysis in qualified laboratories. In this case, the risk that the result will be doubtful is excluded by 99.9%. In addition, home research can produce results that people do not expect at all, both positive and negative.
Conditions that can provoke a false positive result:
- cross reactions;
- period of pregnancy (risk group - women who have given birth several times);
- the presence of normal ribonucleoproteins;
- multiple donation of blood by donors;
- infectious lesions of the respiratory system;
- influenza and hepatitis virus;
- recently received vaccinations (tetanus, hepatitis B, flu);
- very thick blood;
- primary autoimmune liver disease;
- tuberculosis virus;
- herpes virus;
- poor clotting;
- fever;
- liver disease caused by alcohol;
- arthritis;
- violation of immunoregulatory processes;
- damage to small vessels of the body;
- oncological diseases;
- different types of sclerosis;
- organ transplant;
- increased bilirubin;
- increased levels of antibodies;
- critical days.
Some diseases can cause cross-reactions. For example, due to allergies in the blood, antigens incomprehensible to the body can be produced, which it recognizes as foreign. These antigens can cause false positives.
During pregnancy, a woman experiences a hormonal imbalance, therefore, in some cases, there may be a false positive result on the test. It is not recommended to donate blood for the immunodeficiency virus during the menstrual cycle.
Any infectious, fungal and viral diseases almost always give a positive result for the presence of the immunodeficiency virus. For this reason, doctors advise to undergo treatment for the disease, and only after 25-30 days undergo an examination.
Diseases, oncology, increased bilirubin, vaccinations - all these factors affect the result. If a non-standard set of enzymes is present in the blood, then the anonymous test will be false positive.
For these reasons, doctors do not inform people that they have already been diagnosed with a viral immunodeficiency infection. And having heard that the analysis is positive, a person first of all should think about what could provoke a positive result.
False positive test results for human immunodeficiency virus after organ transplantation are very common, especially during the period when the organ is engrafted. In this case, unknown antibodies are produced, which, when tested, are encoded as antigens of the immunodeficiency virus.
Before taking an anonymous test for HIV or AIDS, it is imperative to notify the doctor about whether the disease is present and how long it lasts. This must be done in order to exclude a false positive analysis.
To avoid becoming hostage to false positives
ELISA analysis should be performed after questionable contact after 6-12 weeks. During this period, antibodies of the human immunodeficiency virus are detected. In this case, a 70% false positive analysis can be excluded.
Before donating blood for HIV (ELISA), you must not break your diet, do not use alcohol, drugs and not live a sex life at least 2-3 weeks before taking an HIV test. Blood is donated only on an empty stomach. How much the doctor will take blood, and how much the test costs, as well as the expiration date of the test, you can find out directly at the medical center. With existing viral or infectious diseases, it is better not to take the analysis, you need to contact the laboratory 35-40 days after recovery. If you have other chronic diseases, you should inform your doctor.
Even if the test is positive, you do not need to panic, it may be false positive. How many months should pass after the first delivery?
After 3-4 months, the ELISA analysis can already be retaken. In a person whose blood does not have an immunodeficiency virus, the result will be guaranteed negative.
Many people are interested in the question of how long does HIV live? The human immunodeficiency virus, getting into the air, dies almost instantly. It dies at temperatures above 40 ° C. Therefore, if it were possible to warm a person's blood to such a temperature, HIV would be defeated, and as many people would not die as today die from the virus.
False positive HIV test - medical mistakes
Very often people become hostages of a false positive test for HIV, AIDS, not only due to the fact that only an ELISA test has been submitted, but also due to errors of medical personnel. A false positive result can be triggered by:
- improper transportation of the collected blood;
- the use of low-quality serum for ELISA analysis;
- improper storage of the collected blood;
- in case of violations of the rules of blood sampling.
By committing negligence, an incompetent medical staff calls into question the social development of a person's personality. Of course, not all medical centers make such mistakes. Basically, even pregnant women go to a regular hospital to donate blood for HIV and AIDS without any fear.
Today, many laboratories are equipped with good equipment that will help to carry out a complete and extended examination for the presence of human immunodeficiency virus in the blood.
Despite the fact that modern methods are used to detect HIV, the risk of getting an erroneous result is still present. Therefore, even now, it is possible that the first test for HIV received can be both false positive and false negative.
During the test, 23% of women have a false positive HIV test during pregnancy.There may be several reasons provoking a false positive analysis in this case. The body of a woman during pregnancy sometimes defines the fetus developing in it as a foreign organism. As a result, an active production of antibodies related to the immunodeficiency virus begins in the female body. The reason for this reaction of the female body is the creation of new DNA, which is formed by combining two different genetic materials, that is, an egg and a sperm.
They are able to provoke, the immune system perceives them as a foreign body, to which the immune system first begins to react. The antibodies produced by it during the examination of the analysis and can be perceived as antibodies, which are produced in the presence of the immunodeficiency virus. Such a false positive diagnosis can be determined by an ELISA test. This type of testing is designed to detect AT for viruses. But since ATs have a high structural similarity with each other, then during pregnancy there is always a possibility that the established diagnosis will be false-positive.
The resulting terrible diagnosis may be false positive during pregnancy. Therefore, not for clarification, it is necessary to re-pass the ELISA test later.
The reason when the test gives a false positive response during pregnancy is also the changes in the body that occur after conception. If, before the moment of conception, the woman's immunity was in poor condition. Subsequently, the changes occurring in it during pregnancy can negatively affect the health of the body, thereby increasing the likelihood that the HIV test being passed will be false-positive. A change in the hormonal background of a woman can also cause a false positive test for HIV.
Other causes of a false positive HIV test
Other types of causes related to both certain types of diseases and even to conventional vaccinations can affect the result of the analysis. You can get a false positive result for a test if you have hepatitis viruses or recently vaccinated in the body.
So that these reasons do not provoke the appearance of a false-positive test, before taking an HIV test, a course of treatment for existing diseases should be carried out. In a situation with vaccinations, it is advisable to postpone the HIV test to a later time.
Also, the analysis result can be affected by such reasons as:
- Donation. With multiple donations of blood, an HIV test may be positive;
- Tuberculosis;
- The presence of normal ribonucleoproteins;
- Blood that has low clotting or very thick blood;
- Liver disease;
- Oncology;
- Menstruation;
- Sclerosis, of any kind;
- Fever;
- Herpes.
Even an allergic reaction can become a reason for provoking a false result, due to which antigens undefined by the body can be produced in the blood, which it recognizes as foreign.
Most people who pass, for various reasons, hIV testalways hope for negative indicators. But sometimes it happens that an uninfected person has a positive result, which makes a lot of anxiety. Why are there unreliable results and how to avoid them?
Infection detection can be done in two ways:
- Determination of antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). During the study, antibodies are sorted into known healthy and suspicious ones, the appearance of which can distort the results.
- Immunoblotting is a more thorough and reliable method. It consists in the separation of a mixture of antigens using electrophoresis in a special gel. Then the gel plate is treated with serum containing antibodies to the virus. Further, the analysis is continued by ELISA.
If the patient wishes, he can pass blood for HIV anonymously. The analysis data is processed within 3 weeks.
It is worth bringing some clarity to the terminology. AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is the terminal stage of HIV infection that ends in death. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease today. And the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the cause of AIDS. Therefore, as such , AIDS test does not give up, but the diagnosis is made on the basis of a positive hIV test and the corresponding clinical picture.
And yet, a distorted result can occur in the presence of the following diseases:
- autoimmune liver disease;
- pathology of the immune system;
- chronic arthritis;
- the presence of various viral infections;
- oncological diseases;
- blood clotting disorders.
Blood donors are also often faced with an incorrect result, due to the constant renewal of blood with frequent donation.
It should be remembered that the diagnosis of HIV infection is never established from one test. In case of receiving positive tests, you need to retake the analysis after about 3 months. In the absence of infection, a new virus analysis should show no result.
There are test systems that allow you to analyze at home. According to statistics, it is they who most often show false positive results. There are a number of reasons for this:
- improper storage and operation of the test system;
- non-compliance with sterility when taking material;
- violation of the analysis technique;
- related conditions of the body (bad habits, unhealthy diet);
- the end of the system's shelf life.
The undoubted advantage of using home tests is the preservation of anonymity.
It is not uncommon for pregnant women to have a positive result. This is due to the fact that in response to implantation, the female body begins to produce antibodies, perceiving the embryo as foreign material. Hence, the test results are incorrect.
If a pregnant woman has a positive test, the doctor needs to be extremely tactful to communicate this unpleasant news. It is advisable to retake the analysis at specialized AIDS centers.
Don't forget about the human factor. Cases when the analyzes are confused are not often, but they do take place. To prevent this from happening, medical personnel need to be more responsible in performing their duties.
To avoid a false positive result, a number of rules must be followed when donating blood:
- A few days before donating blood, you must not smoke, take alcohol, have an active sex life, and eat improperly.
- A recently transferred infectious disease is the reason for postponing the analysis by an average of a month.
- It is also necessary to consider taking medications, which can also distort the results.
In any case, a positive analysis is not a verdict. And in order to avoid it, you need to follow safety measures and take care of your health.
Every year, despite the emergence of modern methods of treatment, the problem with the spread of HIV infection is constantly growing. At the same time, the standard of living in the country began to have an insignificant effect on the likelihood of illness. A large number of people die of AIDS every year. Despite the fact that doctors talk about the possibility of significantly prolonging life, in practice this does not always work out. An important point can be called the timely detection of the virus when primary symptoms appear. In this case, a person can rebuild his life in a timely manner, give up bad habits and begin to closely monitor his health. If the virus is detected at the second or last stage of the development of the disease, then the likelihood of prolonging life is very small. This is due to the fact that for several years of its development, the immune system is strongly affected, as a result of which diseases begin to develop that are rarely found in humans. Moreover, even common diseases manifest themselves in the most severe form. That is why tests should be carried out in a timely manner, since if the test is positive for HIV, then treatment should be started immediately. However, there are quite common cases in which testing leads to a false positive HIV test result. Consider all the features of the diagnostics under consideration.
First, you need to figure out if there is a difference in HIV infection and AIDS, as well as how they are tested. Let's highlight the following main points:
- It is HIV infection that affects immunity, and AIDS is the final stage of its development.
- From the moment of infection to the development of immunodeficiency, it can take several years, with proper treatment, several decades.
- The infection itself causes symptoms in the first stage of development, which can be confused with symptoms of SARS or flu.
Thus, you can download that a positive or negative result is given to determine HIV infection. As for AIDS, more sophisticated research is being done to determine the stage of the disease. Therefore, a positive HIV test becomes the reason for other studies.
Is it possible to get a positive result error? Unfortunately, a mistake can be made when examining the sample submitted by the usual method. Consider the features of a false positive test for HIV and the reasons for obtaining it.
Quite often, the prerequisites for such a study of blood are the usual examination of a donated sample when, for example, diagnosing SARS or flu. Quite rarely, people go specifically to be tested for HIV infection. Only after donating blood for a test that is designed to determine the infection in question can the likelihood of a false positive result be excluded.
Like many other viruses, HIV causes a significant increase in the concentration of antibodies in the blood. However, this indicator can indicate many other health problems. With a high concentration of antibodies, doctors and the patient himself should be wary, since the cause may still be associated with HIV infection.
A fairly common question for men and women is how long to wait to get a result and what are the terms within which the research should be carried out. Experts point out that the study of the submitted analysis can be carried out within 5-6 months after its delivery. For such a long time, the virus does not disappear from the tests taken. Typically, research can be completed within 2-3 weeks. 
HIV diagnosis is carried out in two stages:
- Immunoblotting method.
The first stage is carried out in order to weed out healthy antibodies from suspicious ones. However, this method is not enough to make a definitive diagnosis. At this point, the result may be false positive.
A more complex and accurate method for determining HIV infection is immunoblotting. It is this method that allows you to get an accurate result that you can rely on when making a diagnosis. The essence of this method lies in the destruction of the virus into antigens, after which a detailed study of antibodies is carried out. In this case, the result may be erroneous less often than when performing only the first stage. However, even he does not give a 100% guarantee of accuracy, since in some cases the information received may be the reason for making a wrong diagnosis.
The world practice of determining HIV infection indicates the spread of false positive results. This is due to the fact that many diseases can cause a similar response to the study of a given sample for the presence of HIV infection. In this case, ELISA is done only on the recommendation of a doctor to recreate the overall clinical picture. Only with the second method can doctors be able to make a more accurate diagnosis.
Over the years, it has been quite common to come across a warning that it is at the time of donating blood that HIV can be contracted. However, modern precautions, which are to use only disposable instruments when collecting blood, determine that the likelihood of infection at the time of visiting the hairdresser is much higher. Therefore, do not be afraid to go to donate blood on this occasion.
The peculiarities of the development of HIV infection in the body determines that even with the use of modern research methods and equipment, it is not always possible to detect antibodies. This is due to the fact that each person has a different stage of virus reproduction. Experts point out that if you donate blood within less than a month after a probable infection, there is a chance of getting a result that will be false: both negative and positive.
The moment that the result obtained can be either false positive or false negative determines some recommendations for conducting blood tests. As a rule, after receiving the result after the first donation of blood, a second, repeated examination is also prescribed after a while. Quite often, the reasons for obtaining different results are non-compliance with the rules for the delivery of the sample. At the same time, the error of the staff of a medical institution that specializes in determining HIV or AIDS is practically zero.
It is worth remembering that before taking the tests, it is not recommended to eat sour, spicy, fried foods, mineral carbonated water. Regardless of how much the products in question were consumed, there is a possibility of getting a false result. Therefore, when considering whether a laboratory assistant can be mistaken in collecting analyzes, attention should be paid to compliance with the recommendation on what can and cannot be used before carrying out the procedure in question.
You can also reduce the likelihood of research errors when choosing a medical institution that specializes in conducting the research in question. One can be 100% sure that an accurate result is obtained only when repeated studies are carried out six months later, since such a long incubation period has not yet been observed in HIV infection.
What is the incubation period and how is it determined?
As the results of many years of research show, at the initial stage of infection in 99% of cases, the virus in question practically does not manifest itself in any way. The degree of manifestation of the virus depends on the general condition of the body and the immune system. In this case, already at the time of the incubation period, the virus can be transmitted, most often, sexually and using the same shaving accessories.
Also, when considering the incubation period, you should pay attention to the following points:
- As a rule, the initial ELISA is given after 3-6 months from the moment of probable infection.
- In some cases, the virus manifests itself after 2 months from the date of infection. However, this situation is quite rare.
- Primary symptoms may appear much later or be absent altogether.
At the same time, it is practically impossible to determine who has HIV infection in appearance. Therefore, no matter how good the new sexual partner looks, it is recommended to use contraception, since it significantly reduces the risk of infection, but does not provide a 100% guarantee of protection.
Recently, the method of conducting analysis at home anonymously has been very popular. However, it should be borne in mind that it is in such a case that there is a high probability of making an error, which will lead to a false positive result.
You can reduce the likelihood of getting a false result by passing tests in qualified laboratories. Experts know how to reduce the probability of error to 0.01%. However, this indicator does not take into account the fact that the result may be influenced by a certain condition of the patient, the presence of other hidden infections and chronic diseases.
The most common reasons for getting a false positive result include:
- The presence of other infections.
- It is often difficult to accurately determine HIV during pregnancy. At the same time, women who have already given birth several times are at risk.
- With multiple donations of blood as a donor.
- With the active development of the influenza or herpes virus, both with the manifestation of clinical symptoms and without them.
- With an infectious lesion of the respiratory systems.
- With a disease that leads to a significant increase in blood density.
- At the initial stage of development of autoimmune diseases.
- If you get the herpes virus and tuberculosis.
- With a poor blood clotting rate, which is a genetic disease.
- When taking tests at the time of the fever, which arose for various reasons.
- With arthritis.
- Development of oncological diseases at various stages.
- With a recent organ transplant.
- Diseases leading to vascular damage.
- With a significant increase in the level of antibodies for an unknown reason.
- With the development of various types of sclerosis.
- If the tests are carried out by a woman at the time of the passage of critical days.
- With an increase in bilirubin.
There are quite a few processes that can cause a false positive result. For example, an allergy in the blood causes the development of antigens that can be recognized as foreign. At the time of pregnancy, the diagnosis is complicated due to hormonal disruption, but this does not happen in all women.
A false positive result can be obtained by medical error. This is the case for the reason:
- Violations of the requirements for the transportation conditions of the collected analysis.
- The use of incorrect or low-quality sera, which are the basis of the ELISA method.
- In case of violation of the established rules for the collection of genetic material.
- In case of violation of the rules for storing blood.
Unfortunately, medical errors are quite common in medical institutions in small towns. In HIV control centers, it is very unlikely that medical personnel will violate established rules. Also, the likelihood of an error when passing tests in paid medical institutions is reduced, since the proven fact of making a mistake, which led to moral and material damage to the client, can cause the selection of a license.