HIV in Dehradun

What is a HIV?

An HIV test looks for evidence of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. Modern fourth-generation tests detect two things at once: antibodies your immune system makes against HIV-1 and HIV-2, and the p24 antigen, a viral protein that appears well before antibodies do. Detecting both shortens the window period, the interval after exposure during which someone is infected but still tests negative, to roughly two to four weeks in most people. This is a screening test, not a diagnosis. A non-reactive result means no evidence of infection was found. A reactive result means the screen flagged something and must always be confirmed with further, more specific testing before anyone is told they have HIV, because screening tests are deliberately tuned to miss as few true infections as possible, which means they occasionally flag people who are not infected. Testing is confidential, and in India HIV testing is governed by law requiring informed consent and privacy.

Why take this test?

An HIV test is advised after any possible exposure, including unprotected sex with a new or untested partner, a condom failure, a needlestick or sharps injury at work, sharing injecting equipment, or a tattoo or piercing done with unsterile instruments. It is a routine and recommended part of antenatal care, because a mother who knows her status can take treatment that makes transmission to her baby very unlikely. Many surgeries, dialysis programmes and fertility treatments include it as standard pre-procedure screening, and it is often done alongside hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis as a sexual-health panel. Testing is also simply sensible periodically for anyone with more than one partner. The reason to test early is practical rather than moral: HIV treatment today is highly effective, taken as tablets, and someone diagnosed early and treated consistently can expect a normal lifespan and cannot pass the virus on sexually once the virus is undetectable.

• After unprotected sex with a new or untested partner, or a condom failure
• Needlestick, sharps or occupational exposure
• Routine antenatal screening in pregnancy
• Before surgery, dialysis or fertility treatment
• As part of a sexual-health panel with hepatitis B, C and syphilis
• Periodic checking with more than one partner

Normal reference ranges

Ranges are indicative for adults. Your report carries the lab-specific reference range and is reviewed by a LabONE pathologist; always interpret results with your doctor.

FAQs: HIV in Dehradun