Guidelines for universal HIV testing have existed for a long time now.
However, many people do not get tested for HIV on a regular basis.
These are the individuals in the earliest stages of HIV infection.
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However, they will not be picked up on many standard antibody-based HIV tests.
Therefore, such straightforward early HIV infection diagnoses are somewhat unusual.
These people already have antibodies against the virus.
Therefore, their doctors are left to look at certain specific characteristics of those antibodies.
These characteristics will be different in people with new HIV infections than in people with established HIV infections.
However, this information can not be determined by standard HIV testing.
It’s not a normal part of patient care.
A patient is usually considered to have anacute(i.e.
newly transmitted) infection only when they had been tested and found negative within the previous year.
Why Detection of New HIV Infections Is Important
Diagnosing new HIV infections when theyarestill new is important.
Doing so may significantly reduce the spread of HIV.
If they are unaware of their risk, they may be unmotivated to practicesafer sex.
This makes the chance of passing on the virus higher during any particular encounter.
In fact, it is now used as a form of prevention.
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