Confusing Test Results? Get Tested Right — And Relax!
“I had an HIV test because I heard that a former boyfriend is sick. I don’t know if he has HIV, but we didn’t use condoms, so I’m concerned. My test was ‘indeterminate’ and had to be repeated. Even though the second round said ‘nonreactive,’ I can’t stop worrying that maybe the first test was correct — and I’m HIV-positive.”
The young woman was understandably upset. She wants to believe that her HIV-negative test result was accurate, but she’s “having a hard time letting it go.” This is a common type of call for the information hotline at AIDS Services of Austin. They reflect, variously, people’s anxiety about HIV testing, a doctor’s sometimes-inadequate counseling, and the latitude of information which HIV screening can provide.
The “AIDS test” — itself an inaccurate nickname — doesn’t look directly for the virus, but rather for the chemical soldiers called HIV-antibodies that would be produced by an HIV-infected person’s immune system.
The initial test, an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, is highly sensitive, but not absolutely specific. A “reactive” (positive) ELISA must be confirmed by a more specific — and very expensive — Western Blot. Testing is not regarded as HIV-positive unless both tests agree it is “reactive.”
Rarely, a “false positive” can occur with the ELISA, and the Western Blot may show a “weakly reactive” result on one or two of its eight protein categories. This would be regarded as an “indeterminate” result. The person must wait another month or two, nerves probably on edge, then test again. Typically, the first tests were reacting slightly to some proteins in the blood that had molecular similarities to HIV-antibodies; pregnancy or flu vaccinations are the most common causes. The retest likely will be negative, as was the case with this caller.
However, her private physician did not, or did not know how to, explain what was happening, and the possibility of being HIV-positive is enough to unnerve anyone. That’s why we always recommend getting tested at a knowledgeable site: the Austin-Travis County Health Department.
ATCHD operates HIV testing locations all over Austin and Travis County, with hours that will accommodate almost anyone’s schedule. They know what they are doing, the counseling will be top-notch, and the screening will be cheap or free.
Don’t be mishandled by someone who doesn’t understand HIV testing, but do get tested if there is risk in your life! Call 972-5580 and schedule a test soon.
Sandy Bartlett
Community Education Coordinator, AIDS Services of Austin
Have questions about HIV or AIDS? Call the ASA Info-Line at 458-AIDS or
e-mail sandy.bartlett@asaustin.org
This article appears in Tom ‘Leatherface’ Delay.