Question

Can you explain my test results?

15 December 2010. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.

I am working outside of my country and I had unprotected sex 5 months ago I have some symptoms but I had more than 20 test, all were negative and some have numbers like 0.04 – 0.05 – 0.06

On the test result were the following statements:
results less than 0.25 negative
results less than 0.35 borderline
results more than 0.35 positive
What do these numbers mean and why are they increasing?

All answers are saying that there is no HIV test that is 100%, is it this correct or does it depend on the time that the test was taken? For example if the HIV test was done after 6 month or 1 year after exposure is it this test 100% accurate or not?

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

For more information about what the numbers mean please follow this link to a similar question

If your results were 0.04, 0.05, 0.06 or anything less than 0.25 then you do not have HIV. There is no test that is 100% correct for HIV or for any illness. The time at which you take a test is related to its level of accuracy. For more information please follow this link.