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Testing for HIV
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After infection, the virus goes through the stages indicated in the life cycle and the body is developing antibodies against the virus. As soon as there are enough antibodies for detection in serum, the person is said to have been seroconverted.
Click here to view an explanation about types of HIV tests.
Rapid HIV Testing
In rapid HIV testing the Test Kits use HIV antigens to bind with antibodies present in serum, plasma or blood. The antigen-antibody complex will combine with a conjugate which will make the antigen-antibody reaction visible to the human eye by either colour, a stripe or dot depending on the manufacturer of the test kit.
The test always has a positive control that always tests positive and indicates if the technique used was correct or if the test kit itself is usable. If the control area is negative, then the test is invalid.
