in hospitals with blood test do they just test for antibody or the actual hiv i'm very curious?

Answer 1

ooohhh....please stop worrying

Antibody test/ p24 / i cannot recall the other one its between 10 days

Answer 2

An HIV test requires your consent to be performed - at they are supposed to counsel you about the test when they have you sign the consent form. The test is to see if you have antibody(s) to the HIV virus. It takes awhile after exposure to the HIV virus to make antibodies. If your HIV test is negative you may still have the virus in your system but not made the antibody yet. They call this gap from exposure to presence of detectable antibody a "window". Many tests have come a long way to closing that window - often a matter of days now.

Answer 3

When HIV enters the body, it begins to attack certain white blood cells called T4 lymphocyte cells (helper cells). Your doctor may also call them CD4 cells. The immune system then produces antibodies to fight off the infection. Although these antibodies are ineffective in destroying HIV, their presence is used to confirm HIV infection. Therefore, the presence of antibodies to HIV result from HIV infection. HIV tests look for the presence of HIV antibodies; they do not test for the virus itself.

HIV testing consists of an initial screening with two types of tests commonly used to detect HIV infection. The most commonly used initial test is an enzyme immune assay (EIA) or the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). If EIA test results show a reaction, the test is repeated on the same blood sample. If the sample is repeatedly the same result or either duplicate test is reactive, the results are "confirmed" using a second test such as the Western blot. This more specific (and more expensive) test can tell the difference between HIV antibodies and other antibodies that can react to the EIA and cause false positive results. False positive EIA results are uncommon, but can occur. A person is considered infected following a repeatedly reactive result from the EIA, confirmed by the Western blot test.

In addition to the EIA or ELISA and Western blot, other tests now available include:

* Radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA): A confirmatory blood test that may be used when antibody levels are very low or difficult to detect, or when Western blot test results are uncertain. An expensive test, the RIPA requires time and expertise to perform.
* Dot-blot immunobinding assay: A rapid-screening blood test that is cost-effective and that may become an alternative to standard EIA and Western blot testing.
* Immunoflourescence assay: A less commonly used confirmatory blood test used on reactive ELISA samples or when Western blot test results are uncertain.
* Nucleic acid testing (e.g., viral RNA or proviral DNA amplification method): A less available blood test that can be used to resolve an initial indeterminate Western blot result in certain situations.
* Polymerase chain reaction (PCR): A specialized blood test that looks for HIV genetic information. Although expensive and labor-intensive, the test can detect the virus even in someone only recently infected.

Answer 4

1. the HIV enters and prokes body to produce antibodies to kill it, takes 6 - 8 weeks, the simple tests then detect the antibodies. 2. baby has mothers antibodies till 18 months testing pos, so test baby only after that for babys status. 3.expensive tests can detect HIV itself in victims blood from day one.
4. situ when donor got HIV recent and gave blood today tests neg, beware .

Answer 5

I am an MD. The screening test only tests for antibodies, but if they are positive, then a followup test is done called "viral load" which measures the actual number of virus particles in your blood. Another followup test is your CD4 count which determines how successful the virus has been so far in ruining your immune system. Both are helpful pieces of information.

Answer 6

No, they can't test you for HIV unless you give them permission to, or you mention to them you have reason to believe you may have it.

Answer 7

just the antibody

Answer 8

i believe all blood is tested for h.i.v. whether or not you give permission.somrthing to do with disease control.