Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS

HIV tests are used to detect the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in serum, saliva, or urine. Such tests may detect antibodies, antigens, or RNA. AIDS-defining clinical condition AIDS is diagnosed separately from HIV. The window period is the time from infection until a test can detect any change. The average window period with HIV-1 antibody tests is 25 days for subtype B. Antigen testing cuts the window period to approximately 16 days and nucleic acid testing (NAT) further reduces this period to 12 days. Performance of medical tests is often described in terms of: Sensitivity: The percentage of the results that will be positive when HIV is present Specificity: The percentage of the results that will be negative when HIV is not present. All diagnostic tests have limitations, and sometimes their use may produce erroneous or questionable results. False positive: The test incorrectly indicates that HIV is present in a non-infected person. False negative: The test incorrectly indicates that HIV is absent in an infected person. Nonspecific reactions, hypergammaglobulinemia, or the presence of antibodies directed to other infectious agents that may be antigenically similar to HIV can produce false positive results. Autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, have also rarely caused false positive results. Most false negative results are due to the window period. Tests selected to screen donor blood and tissue must provide a high degree of confidence that HIV will be detected if present (that is, a high sensitivity is required). A combination of antibody, antigen and nucleic acid tests are used by blood banks in Western countries. The World Health Organization estimated that, , inadequate blood screening had resulted in 1 million new HIV infections worldwide. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration requires that all donated blood be screened for several infectious diseases, including HIV-1 and HIV-2, using a combination of antibody testing (EIA) and more expeditious nucleic acid testing (NAT).

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HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual may not notice any symptoms, or may experience a brief period of influenza-like illness. Typically, this is followed by a prolonged incubation period with no symptoms.

Post-exposure prophylaxis

Post-exposure prophylaxis, also known as post-exposure prevention (PEP), is any preventive medical treatment started after exposure to a pathogen in order to prevent the infection from occurring. In 2021, the FDA has approved bamlanivimab/etesevimab for post-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19. PEP is commonly and very effectively used to prevent the onset of rabies after a bite by a suspected-rabid animal, since diagnostic tools are not available to detect rabies infection prior to the onset of the nearly always-fatal disease.

Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS

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