Ok, heres the thing. i asked a question kinda like this the other day. I got tested for hiv a month ago.(only had unprotected sex once...and no not because im a skank lol) ok it came out negative like i expected it to. i read online last night that there is an hiv type 2. so my question is, when i got tested for type one, did it test for type two also? I think i am just paranoid so any advice would be great
2006-11-16 19:51:47 · 8 answers · asked by Molly 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ STDs
yes. All types of HIV attack the body the same way, though the way we have to attack them is differently. To compare it to a more common virus, the flu, has several hundred different strands that all attack the body in the same way. Though, we have to attack each strand differently. The flu shot is the CDC's best guess at which influenza virus (what causes the flu) out of the hundreds of strands of influenza, is going to have the best chances of outbreak in your area, and they have a vaccine made for the top 4 or 5 strands in your area. (that's why you can still get the flu even after you've had the flu shot).
There are two main tests used for detection of HIV-I and HIV-II--Western Blot and ELISA test. If you were negative, then you were negative for all of HIV, not just for one strand.
2006-11-16 20:06:28 · answer #1 · answered by firerookie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HIV is a virus in the blood that replicates. At early infection you might not have enough concentration to have it register. Many HIV people have undedectible viral loads but since they have it they will always have it. They can test an organ like the liver for HIV because it never leaves there.
There are cases now with babies being born with HIV in the blood right when they are born but it goes away. There are also lots of examples of people who are not suseptible to get the virus (a study done of sex workers in an aisian country) that about 12% had been repeatedly exposed and are still HIV free
Like many test I think they also look at related results. If HIV is present you will have 'x' present and they have a good cost effective test for x so they look for that instead of HIV (also because there are many gnome types of HIV out there and they are always changing). (things like antibodies, white blood cell count, CD4 and CD8 counts etc)I think the test is like a cumulation of evidence..
You should be retested in 3 months, that if by chance you were infected it might take that long to have enough in your blood to register. Don't worry too much it is only a 1 in 12 chance to start with as the person receiving
2006-11-17 19:53:49 · answer #2 · answered by IDP 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are two types of HIV (HIV-1 and HIV-2). Both HIV-1 and HIV-2 have been identified in the United States. The number of known HIV-2 infected persons in the U.S. is less than 100. The estimated number of people in the U.S. infected with HIV-1 is between 650,000 and 900,000.
Some HIV antibody ELISA and HIV antibody Western blot assays detect antibody to both HIV-1 and HIV-2. These are referred to as HIV-1/HIV-2 "combination" tests. Some HIV antibody ELISA and HIV antibody Western blot assays detect antibody primarily to HIV-1 and secondarily to HIV-2. Others detect antibody primarily to HIV-2 and secondarily to HIV-1.
You need to call where you were tested and find out what test you had.
Secondly there is a 6 month window to convert to positive, so any test may not be accurate for a positive until you have served 6 months.
...kinda like a sentence I know...so don't be with anyone unprotected for another 5 months and then get yourself retested.
...be safe, and God bless!
2006-11-16 20:02:47 · answer #3 · answered by Rada S 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is completely normal that you are afraid!
Anyway, the test is negative and it is a good thing.
I don't know how it works in the US but in France, you have the test for the two Hiv types.
You can have a look on the test paper and you may find :
Test Hiv 1...negative
Test Hiv 2...negative.
Take care !
2006-11-16 19:58:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you are tested for both types when you get an HIV test. Relax, you're probably okay! Good that you are keeping an eye on your health though.
2006-11-16 19:59:01 · answer #5 · answered by Grace 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even if you had sex with someone who is HIV positive you still aren't necessarily going to get it.
You're probably paranoid, but next time be safe.
2006-11-16 19:57:24 · answer #6 · answered by To Be Free 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hiv is only one disease.
2006-11-16 21:03:42 · answer #7 · answered by Lullllaaa........... 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
just be safe! it's not worth all this paranoid-ness.
2006-11-17 06:25:37 · answer #8 · answered by keep it real 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋