Rapid HIV Test Accuracy

Let me begin with a very disturbing fact. Studies have found that about 1 in 4 Americans who are infected with HIV are not aware of their HIV positive status. This means most of them are continuing with high risk behavior and putting their sexual partners at risk of contracting the virus. Apart them this, they are also wasting precious time and not seeking medical that will prevent their HIV infection from turning into AIDS. This why many people are opting for rapid HIV testing. There are other tests available, like the ELISA test for HIV. But, this tests takes about 1 to 2 weeks for the results to arrive and not all are ready to wait so long. Rapid HIV testing, on the other hand gives the result in just 20 to 40 minutes. However, just imagine one is told he/she is HIV positive and confirmatory tests come out to be negative? Imagine the trauma and fear running through your mind? This is why many people have a question about rapid HIV test accuracy. Let's go into the details of the same in the following paragraphs.

What is Rapid HIV Test
Rapid HIV test helps detect antibodies against HIV in the body. There are two types of rapid test, oral rapid HIV test and blood rapid HIV test. In case of oral test, the sample from the oral mucosa (mouth) is taken and tested. In case of blood test, a drop of blood is taken from a finger prick for evaluation. If you do not wish to have your blood drawn for the test, you can go in for the oral fluid test.

How Accurate are Rapid HIV Tests
As the results are given in just 20 to 40 minutes, many people wonder about rapid HIV test accuracy. Rapid HIV test detects antibodies in the immune system against HIV. It is as accurate as the ELISA test for HIV. It has been found these tests are 99% accurate. However, all HIV positive results are sent for further screen by ELISA and Western Blot. This helps confirm the original result accurately. Sometimes, a second rapid HIV test is performed to make sure the first result is not erroneous. It has been found only 1 to 3 per 1,000 tests comes out to be false positive. As you can see the rapid HIV test accuracy range is quite high, making it a reliable test for HIV.

HIV Testing Window Period
If you are thinking of getting an HIV test, it is important to understand the window period. People who have had a high risk behavior recently or think they may have been infected unknowingly, should get themselves checked for HIV. However, one should wait for 3 months before getting a HIV test. This is because HIV antibodies take about 3 months to develop after an infection. If one gets an HIV test done between the window period, there are high chances of getting a false negative. This means, even though the person is infected with the virus, the results come out to be negative. After 3 months the result is negative, it means the person is termed to be HIV negative. However, it is important to take another HIV test after 6 months as some people take 6 months to develop antibodies against the virus. If the second test too comes out to be negative, the person is deemed HIV negative for sure. A HIV test after 3 months is 97% accurate and after 6 months it is 99.7% accurate.

Free HIV Testing
If you are worried about the costs, then you should search the Internet to look for government hospitals, government agencies as well as NGO's who offer free HIV testing. They help screen people who cannot afford a paid test or want to know about their HIV status. These free HIV testing centers protect your privacy 100%. They keep your records, test results and other information private under the Data Practices Law and HIPPA regulations.

This is all about rapid HIV test accuracy. The test is reliable enough and gives accurate results. False positives are also seen in case of ELISA tests as well as Western Blot. Thus, one should consider that errors do occur at times. For any further questions on HIV/AIDS, speak to your doctor for more information.