Question
Will HIV tests be positive if viral load is undetectable?
26 September 2017. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, HIV testing, South Africa.
If my viral load is undetectable and I do an HIV test, will it show a positive result?
Answer
Hi
Viral load tests look for how much virus can be found in a sample of blood.
HIV tests looks for whether your immune system has ever been in contact with HIV.
As immune responses stay with you for life, even when there is no detectable viral load, the HIV test should always be positive.
Even if an HIV cure is found, the HIV antibody test is likely to still be positive for most people.
However, sometimes people who start ART very soon after infection, might test negative with rapid HIV tests. This is a test problem, thoough – the person still has HIV. Please see this report for details.
Hi. without more details it is difficult to comment. If your viral load was undetecable and is now detectable, please talk to your doctor. If you were missing pills this might be a reason. Your doctor needs to talk about this.
Hi. How do I make my viral load undetectable again? or what help to maintain my immune system?
I have an undetectable viral load, how will I know if I’m healed if my immune system will always read reactive.
It’s great that you have an undetectable viral load. That means your HIV meds are working, and that your immune system can stay strong and keep you healthy.
At the moment there’s not a cure for HIV, but when it comes the antibodies that the body makes in reaction to HIV will still show up in tests.
In the last five years there has been a dramatic increase in research for a cure. Scientists are making great progress in working on all the parts of this very complex problem.
Whether HIV is transmitted is related to many different things. So it’s not just about being exposed once.
You can find out more about common risks for transmission here:
http://i-base.info/guides/testing/risks-for-transmission
Hi, I just slept with an HIV positive person without knowing her status so my question is that there is a possible chance that I am not infected because I only done it once with her.
Hi Nadine – I am sorry but I don’t understand your question. If you are HIV positive then being on treatment should make your viral load undetectable. If you are not HIV positive, it might be that your docotr want to confirm your results with a scond test.
Hey I came from the hospital the doctor said my results is showing low of positive, what is the meaning? I have to come back next week for more results. Please someone help me to understand please.
The most common test for HIV is the antibody test. Your positive antibody result needs to be confirmed by a second test. It sounds like your doctor has asked for confirmation of the positive result, along with a CD4 count and viral load test.
If the positive result is confirmed it’s good to know that HIV treatment today is safe and effective. And getting treatment early will stop you from getting ill.
But what if my PCR Viral Load is negative? I’m not yet convinced. Do I need a re-test? There’s no symptoms though of HIV. I just hope its all false positive. My PCR is still waiting.