Question
Does polymyositis influence a HIV test?
16 October 2018. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, HIV testing.
Hello. I recently donated blood and they call me to from the laboratory claiming that they need to do some extra tests. When i arrived they told me that i have hiv. I was very surprised since that i never put myself at risk. My CD4 count is 350 and viral load is 11450.. Knowing that i have polymyositis can this condition affect the results and can it be false positive
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
You having polymyositis won’t have affected your HIV test. This is because HIV tests are especially designed to look for HIV. Having a viral load is confirmation that a person is positive as this measures the amount of HIV in a persons blood.
Since being diagnoed have you started medicaiton?