Question:

I have tested positive for HIV but my girlfriend whom I have had unprotected sex with for four years (prior to coming to the US) tested negative. I come from a sub-Saharan Africa country and my girlfriend is still in Africa but I am in the US. The only woman I have had sex with on one occasion (prior to my test) in the US is also negative. This woman has had a baby (not mine) in the last few months and was tested more than once during her pregnancy. I want to know if there are any known testing errors associated with Africans testing in the US. Do testing protocols differ for different regions of the world? I tested through the Home Access system.

Answer provided by:

Peter Shalit, M.D.
Internal Medicine

The Home Access system should detect most strains of HIV. However, to make sure, any positive test should be followed up by a blood test in a doctor's office. In any case, you will want to seek medical care, in order to have further evaluation of your immune system (CD4 count or T-cells) and of the amount of HIV in your bloodstream (HIV RNA or viral load). These tests will confirm whether you are infected, and if so, the degree to which the virus has affected your immune system, and whether you should consider taking medicine at this time to treat HIV.

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