What is acute HIV infection and can it be detected by HIV antibody tests?
Acute HIV infection is the very early, initial stage of HIV infection when the virus is multiplying rapidly and the body has not yet developed antibodies to fight HIV infection. Symptoms of acute HIV infection, if they are present, might include fever, fatigue or malaise, joint pain, headache, loss of appetite, rash, night sweats, myalgias, nausea or diarrhea, and/or pharyngitis. HIV antibody tests will not generally detect HIV infection during this early acute stage of infection. However, there are other tests that diagnose HIV infection by detecting certain parts of the genetic material of HIV. RNA PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction) detect the RNA genetic material of HIV and can be used to diagnose acute HIV infection. These tests should be used when the clinical suspicion is high for acute HIV infection, the standard antibody tests are negative, and the confirmatory Western blot tests are either negative or indeterminate. 3. What is the suggested testing protocol for a person who
