Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. Dear Doctors,
I have been searching the internet for information regarding the
window period for standard HIV testing, of course the majority of
sites say 3 months I have even found sites that still say 6
months, but what I would like to point out to you and ask you your
opinion is The State of Massachusttes Dept. Of Health says 6
weeks on a standard elisa test is what is needed for testing , I
would like your opinon on this , does Massachusetts know
something that the CDC dosen't ?
Mark H. Katz, M.D.
Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente of Southern California
I think that you are experiencing some of the "gray zone" we are used to seeing in HIV care (and other aspects of medicine, too): The convention has been 3 months, and yes, some (very few) cases have occurred where a person did not seroconvert until somewhere between 3 and 6 months.
I quote from the Johns Hopkins Medical Management of HIV Infection 2003 edition, page 7: Window period: The time delay from infection to positive EIA averages 14 to 22 days with newer reagents (Clin Infect Dis 1997;25:101; Am J Med 2000;109:568). [Katz,Mark H] Some do not seroconvert for 3 to 4 weeks, but virtually all patients seroconvert within 6 months (Am J Med 2000;109:568).
As for Massachusetts, remember the 1972 US presidential election--it was the only state carried by Democrat George McGovern!
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