Prepared by: Bratislav Prokić, November 2022
Review: Prof. Dr. Biljana Kocić, epidemiologist,
Institute of Public Health - Niš
What does a negative HIV test result mean?
A negative or non-reactive HIV test result indicates that the test did not find traces of HIV infection and that you can be sure that you do not have HIV infection. The test may fail to detect HIV infection if it happened recently, because of the window period (within the last 6 weeks for a venous blood test, or within the last 3 months for a rapid test).
Should I repeat the HIV test?
If you have respected the window period so that 6 weeks have passed since your last risk of infection (6 weeks for a venous blood test or 3 months for a rapid test), you do not need to repeat the HIV test, nor do any other tests.
Can an HIV test be false negative?
False-negative results most often occur if testing is done in the first few weeks after infection (during the window period) when the test cannot detect HIV infection. After that period, false negative tests are extremely rare. The probability that a negative result will be correct is over 99.7%.
When should I be tested for HIV again?
If you have certain risk factors, such as sex without a condom, you should continue to get tested for HIV at least once a year (with anal sex every 3 to 6 months).
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