Is PCR test required to rule out HIV after negative ELISA & 4th gen. test? - Dr. Ramakrishna Prasad

Описание: It is all a question of timing and it depends on the timing of the exposure. For example if someone was exposed or someone had an exposure and the exposure happened today, and say the nature of the exposure was unprotected sex. If I do an ELISA test tomorrow or a 4th generation antigen antibody tests, tomorrow, it will be very early for these two tests to pick up a real infection or a real positive. the earliest period whereby the HIV infection after an exposure can be detected is about 10 days and the test which will enable that will be a PCR test. But if you do a 4th generation antigen antibody test, after 3 weeks after the exposure, it is able to pick up the infection and if it is negative, the likelihood of infections is low. A standard ELISA test, depending on which generation and which company or which product, typically requires 6 to 12 weeks for it to be used as a conclusive evidence for a negative result. so the answer to your question is if sufficient times has passed between expose and you getting negative ELSA test or a 4th generation test, I would define this as sufficient time to be at least 4 to 6 weeks and then in that situation a PCR test would not be required. But if a test would be done within a week or so after exposure, then a PCR test might need to be considered to rule out infection.