Early Detection Screen

More About Early Detection Screen

Some tests can detect HIV infection earlier, before antibodies are detectable in standard HIV testing. You will also still need standard antibody testing later, to confirm results, because false-positives and false-negatives are possible. Tests that can help identify early HIV infection include:

• PCR or RNA tests.
  Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests involve evaluating a blood sample for genetic material — RNA or DNA — produced by the HIV virus infection. These tests measure the amount of virus present in your blood (viral load) . The tests may return a false-negative result if infection with HIV occurred too recently, such as fewer than ten days ago. 
• p24 antigen tests.
  This test can identify an HIV protein — p24 — in your blood from about ten days to up to three or four weeks after infection with HIV. Once antibodies begin to form, they bind to the p24 protein, making p24 undetectable. By that time, standard antibody tests may be able to detect the antibodies. 
• Can you test negative for HIV and still have HIV?
  Yes. If you were only recently exposed to the HIV virus, you could test negative and still have HIV (false-negative), particularly with the standard antibody tests.

If you test negative for HIV during standard antibody HIV testing and it's been less than three months since the suspected exposure, you should consider retesting. The best time for this, is three months or more after the possible exposure.

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