ars, 5 weeks, test

Dear Dr. Hunter,
about 5 weeks ago I had unprotected sex with a gay man. Now I am afraid of HIV. After 4 weeks I went to the doctor for testing. It was a test oft the 3rd generation and it was negative. 4 and a half week after the exposure I became a very bad sore throat that still lasts. So I went for retesting on day 35. It was a test for Ag and Ab. It was again negative.
So my questions are:
- Are the tests conclusive?
- Does the sore throat in week 5 sound like ars (for you)?
- Can I have unprotected sex with a hiv negative person from now on.
- Do I have to retest?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I will be glad to comment. The test that you had at 35 days is definitive at any time more than 28 days after and exposure and would have certainly been positive if your sore throat had been due to HIV.  Thus you can be sure that you do not have HIV from the encounter that you describe and that your sore throat was not a manifestation of the ARS.  You can have unprotected sex with an uninfected partner with confidence that you did not get HIV 35 days ago.  You do not need further testing.

I hope this comment is helpful to you.  EWH

[snowflake280]

Thank you! I am glad to hear this. But now I am a little bit confused too, because my Dr. said, that I have to repeat the test after three weeks, to be sure (because of the high risk and the symptoms during the test). So I guess, that he is wrong? What do you think?
With best regards

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your doctor is being a bit more conservative than the science warrants. He is quoting the "official" recommendation and may be basing his results on older data.  As i said, your results are definitive.  EWH

[snowflake280]

Thank you ;-)