1. Why is HIV antibody testing necessary?
A considerable proportion of infected persons and patients have not been detected or do not know their infection status, and the risk of transmission is high. Currently, 95% of newly reported HIV infections and cases are transmitted through sexual means. Sexual behavior involves personal life and privacy, and is highly secretive.
Male same-sex transmission of infections is increasing rapidly, and the proportion of unsafe sex is high; heterosexual transmission accounts for a high proportion, which has a great impact on the AIDS epidemic; there are prostitution and whoring, crowded fornication, new drug abuse, "one-night stand", "multiple sexual partners" and other undesirable effects Factors such as sexual behavior and deliberate transmission.
The widespread use of new social media makes the occurrence of high-risk behaviors more concealed and convenient.
Through testing, you can find out if you are infected with AIDS as soon as possible, and only if you find it early can you treat it early, prolong your life and improve the quality of life. Early detection and early detection can better take measures, such as the use of condoms and anti-retroviral therapy, that is, to protect yourself from further damage from the virus, and to protect your sexual partners to avoid the further spread of AIDS.
2. Who needs testing
(1) A history of high-risk sexual behavior, including only one heterosexual behavior without condom use or male homosexual behavior: sexual behavior between men and men is useless; sexual behavior between men and women occurs , Useless sets; whether men and women have a one-night stand, or use dating software such as shaking their phones, have sex with someone they don’t know, useless sets; have sex with someone known to be infected with AIDS.
For people who frequently have high-risk sexual behaviors and do not use condoms, it is recommended to get an HIV test every 3 months.
(2) The spouse or sexual partner of an AIDS-infected person.
(3) Those who share needles and drug users with others.
(4) Tooth extraction or tattooing in informal medical units (appliances that are not strictly disinfected may be used in the process).
(5) Other situations: patients with venereal diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and condyloma acuminatum; partners who plan to get married are recommended to have pre-marital testing; pregnant women are recommended to be tested when they are pregnant; babies born to HIV-infected mothers.
3. When to detect
After being infected with AIDS, it is not possible to detect the infection immediately. There is a window of detection, that is, the period from HIV infection to the detection of antibodies or nucleic acids in the blood. The window period for antibody detection is generally 4-12 weeks, and the window period for nucleic acid detection is 1-4 weeks.
At present, the most commonly used detection method is antibody testing. It is recommended to detect antibodies 4 weeks after high-risk behaviors. Most infected people can detect antibodies in 4 weeks. If the result is negative in 4 weeks, you can wait until 8 or 12 weeks before testing. Under normal circumstances, if no high-risk behavior occurs again within 12 weeks and no antibodies are detected, HIV infection can be ruled out.
It should be noted that although antibodies cannot be detected during the "window period", it is possible that the viral nucleic acid has already replicated in the body and is also infectious. Therefore, if you have sex during this time, you should use condoms to protect your sexual partners from being infected.
If you have had high-risk behaviors in the past and have not been tested, you should be tested as soon as possible.
