HIV Test Results?

Question

I did an HIV test today. It came back non-reactive. But I am worried coz the test report showed that an s/co ratio was 0.53. It was non reactive since it was less than 1. But what does the number 0.53 mean? The doctor told me that the test is considered negative if the value is less than 1...but why? What happens at 1? What is the difference between 1 and 0.53 ?Is it possible that I have HIV?

Answer 1

Yusef, please, stop obsessing about this. We have been e-mailing back and forth over this and I've explained this to you as best as I can. The ELISA test is very sensitive, meaning it detects anything that it *thinks* might be an HIV antibody. However, the ELISA test is not very specific, meaning occasionally it will flag a few things that aren't really HIV antibodies, creating an indeterminate or even false positive result.

Doctors use the ELISA because they want to detect the highest rate of HIV+ people with the most cost effective, widely available test. As I told you before, it's a little bit like a urine drug screen, there will be a level such as 300 ncg/mL because levels below that could have been picked up by something like eating poppy seeds or handing a dollar bill that has cocaine on it - thus insignificant.

So - again - anything <1 on the ELISA is considered non-reactive or negative for HIV. It's true they are usually around .25-.35 but yours is still .53, well below the 1. Anything between .9-1.1 is considered indeterminate is will be retested and confirmed with the Western Blot which is more *specific* for HIV. Also, as I stated, you can get the PCR test, which actually looks into the blood for the actual HIV *virus* itself, not just antibodies, so this test can be used very early after exposure, literally the same day even. But this test is not widely available and is expensive so your doctor won't use it without a good reason.

I think you must have a reason for this unhealthy obsession. You must be engaging in risky behavior still, or know someone who is, otherwise why would you be so worried after repeat HIV tests? Go to your doctor and come clean, tell him/her about your worry, that you can't sleep at night and are asking advice from strangers on the internet, most of whom don't know anymore than you. You've gotten many good answers, yet still you keep asking, what do you want us to say? That you are seroconverting? If you think that, clearly we can't talk you out of it. I can try to explain this to you, as can others who have knowledge of this subject, but NO ONE here at Y!A can explain it better than your doctor.

Answer 2

THey probably did it by EIA method. It's probably the absorbance. It seems a little high, but it's still negative. There could be various reasons why it might be high like that. If you are worried ask your doctor to retest in 6 months. Usually the numbers are very low or really high. they rarely around like 1.01.

Answer 3

See the links below for more information from a medical reference source on the topic of STDs and HIV...

Answer 4

If you Doctor is suspicious, he would have told you to come back and get re-checked. Since he didn't say that, that means you are fine.