movies opensource_movies Becky Kuhn, M.D., answers the top ten questions about HIV tests: 1) How do HIV tests work? 2) What are the window period and false negatives? 3) How long after exposure to HIV does it take for a person to test HIV positive? 4) What's the risk of a false positive on the initial ELISA test? 5) What's the risk of a false positive diagnosis after a Western Blot test? 6) Can I be tested for free? 7) Can I be tested without revealing my name? 8) Do I have to be stuck with a needle? 9) If I test HIV positive, does that mean Im going to develop AIDS and die? 10) Why should I get tested? She also explains: anonymous testing; confidential, name-based testing; home-based testing for HIV-1; and use of the PCR Test for detection of HIV infection during the window period. There is a 98.5% chance that an "HIV positive" result on an initial ELISA test is correct (and a 1.5% chance that it was a false positive). There is a 99.9996% chance that an "HIV positive" result after an initial ELISA *and* a confirmatory Western Blot test is correct (and 1 chance in 250,000 that it was a false positive). HIV denialists (people who deny that HIV is the cause of AIDS) often exaggerate the frequency of false positives and ignore the fact that a person must get an "HIV positive" result on BOTH the initial ELISA *and* the confirmatory Western Blot test before the person is given a diagnosis of "HIV positive." If you have taken both an ELISA test and a Western Blot test and your doctor tells you you are HIV positive, believe them! hiv;aids;test;questions;myths;denialists;false;positive;negative;elisa;enzyme immunoassay;western blot AIDSvideos.org http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ TheTopTenQuestionsAboutHivTests contact.us@AIDSvideos.org 2009-01-18 01:47:38 2009-01-18 01:48:05