Diagnosis of HIV AIDS
Diagnosis of HIV AIDS – ETHOS HEALTH CARE.
Screening Tests
- HIV 1 and HIV 2
- P24 antigen test
Diagnosing HIV antibodies can be done using:
- Blood,
- Saliva,
- Cells from the inside of the cheek.
Types of tests
- Rapid tests
- Home based tests
- Lab tests
If the first test result is positive, then following test must be done:
- CD4 Count
- Western blot test, ELISA, IFA
- PCR, DNA PCR test
- Plasma HIV RNA
- Viral Load
- Test for drug resistance
- Medical Examination
- Lab Tests for infections as tuberculosis (TB), syphilis, hepatitis B.
- Regular Pap tests for women.
- XRay, Ultrasound and scans
HIV Testing in Infants
CDC recommends that all pregnant women get tested for HIV before and/or during delivery. Knowing the HIV status of the mother allows physicians to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission by providing antiretroviral treatment to both mothers infected with HIV and their newborn infants. However, it is difficult to determine if a baby born to a mother infected with HIV is actually infected because babies carry their mothers’ HIV antibodies for several months. Today, healthcare providers can conduct an HIV test for infants between ages 3 months and 15 months. Researchers are now evaluating several blood tests to determine which ones are suitable for testing babies younger than 3 months.
