Rapid tests are often referred to as point-of-care tests because rather than sending a blood sample to a laboratory, the test can be conducted and the result read in a doctor’s office or a community setting, without specialised laboratory equipment. If you get an HIV test after a potential HIV exposure and the result is negative, get tested again after the window period. Remember, you can only be sure you are HIV-negative if:

Following a preliminary positive test result from a self-test, the current clinical workflow for laboratory-based HIV diagnosis is to initially utilize a 4th generation HIV immunoassay that can detect both HIV antibodies and p24 antigen. If a positive indication is obtained, a differentiation immunoassay is performed next to determine the strain of HIV, as treatment plans are different for HIV-1 and HIV-2 [ 10]. Currently, there is only one approved differentiation immunoassay that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Geenius HIV1/2 from Bio-Rad [ 11]. If the differentiation immunoassay is indeterminate, or if an early infection is possible, a HIV-1 nucleic acid test is also performed. This testing algorithm has been recommended by the CDC since 2014, replacing HIV-1 immunofluorescence and western blot assays [ 12]. After diagnosis, viral load and T cell counts will be tested pretreatment, 4–6 weeks after treatment begins, and every 3–6 months thereafter [ 13].Anti-HIV medicine called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may stop you becoming infected if taken within 72 hours of being exposed to the virus.

All HIV tests need to have reactive results (a preliminary positive result) confirmed with further tests." A positive test result is always a positive test result, regardless of the window period. If you have a positive test result you must get your result confirmed by a healthcare professional. The INSTI HIV Self Test is adapted from the INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2 Antibody Test for personal use. This is one of the most accurate third-generation tests available, with a superior sensitivity to recent infection. When used by health professionals, the test’s sensitivity and specificity were both calculated to be 99.8%. Are people able to understand test instructions and use self-tests reliably? If you get an HIV test outside of a health care setting or lab—such as at a community-based organization, mobile testing van, or elsewhere—you will likely receive a rapid HIV test.

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A total of 179 HIV-infected patients and 60 HIV non-infected patients were included. Among the HIV-infected patients, 65% were male and 70% were Caucasian. In the HIV non-infected group, 33% were male and 98% were Caucasian. Only 2 patients were HIV-2-positive, and 44% of the HIV-1-positive patients were infected with the subtype B virus. Among the HIV-infected patients, 49% (88/179) had been infected with HIV for over 10 years, and 60% (107/179) were at stage A of the CDC score. Furthermore, 73% (131/179) had received HAART for at least 2 years. The median CD4 value was 533/mm 3, and 53% (95/179) of patients presented CD4 counts above 500/mm 3. Finally, 67% (121/179) of the infected patients had an undetectable viral load (<50 cp/mL). The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the imperative need to develop diagnostic devices that can be rapidly deployed en masse to the general population to stop the spread of highly transmissible pathogens. It also highlighted the need to improve upon large-scale manufacturability, test sensitivity, sample-to-answer time, biological sample matrix (e.g., saliva, blood, nasopharyngeal fluid) independence in detection, simplicity of the entire testing process, and testing costs. Inspired by these aspects, we also propose recommendations to bring forth the next generation of HIV self-testing and viral load self-monitoring approaches, integrated devices and miniaturized instrumentation and highlight some of these as below. If untreated, HIV can be passed to your baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. Treatment in pregnancy greatly reduces the risk of passing HIV on to the baby. Livant E et al. The fourth generation Alere™ HIV Combo rapid test improves detection of acute infection in MTN-003 (VOICE) samples. Journal of Clinical Virology 94:15-21, 2017.

The study will enrol 400 participants providing 89% power (5% significance level) to demonstrate that the true result is at least 95%, compared to the expected 98%. If 10% decline to undertake part 2 of the study, 360 participants will provide 91% power to demonstrate the overall correct identification is at least 94%, assuming that 98% of tests can be correctly interpreted. The participants will undergo a standard point of care test for HIV in parallel with the study test (but will not be given the result until they have interpreted their own self-test.Rapid tests are usually reliable for long-standing infections, but are sometimes unable to detect recent HIV infections acquired in the past few weeks. It has a proven clinical specificity (if a person doesn’t have HIV how often will the test be negative) of >99.8%, this means that on average 998 in every 1,000 negative results will be correct. If this test is also positive, you'll be referred to a specialist HIV clinic for some more tests and a discussion about your treatment options.

Tan WS et al. Sensitivity of HIV rapid tests compared with fourth-generation enzyme immunoassays or HIV RNA tests.AIDS 30: 1951-1960, 2016.If the test finds no sign of infection, your result is "negative". If signs of infection are found, the result is "positive". When you have finished you can put everything into this bag and throw it away with your usual household rubbish.