HIV RNA Test?

[Minervinator]

My wife cheated on me and had unprotected sex with a guy two weeks ago. In addition to all the emotional trauma, I am scared ******** of getting HIV.   I noticed that all the places that do STD tests around here just do the antibody test, which to be 99% sure you have to get retested at 3-6 months.

I called anylabtestnow.com and they do have some HIV RNA tests (which I know are more common in Europe).  However, the tests they have did not specifically mention testing for HIV infection, it was supposed to be used for an already positive confirmation in conjunction with a t-cell test to check for viral load and immune system function.

The test is: RNA Quantitative bDNA

They also had: HIV-1 RNA quantitative real time PCR.

My questions are:

1. Can I use either of these two tests to check for infection 2 weeks after potential exposure?
2. If yes, what would the accuracy of the test be at that point (I assume above 99%)?
3. How would I read the results?  Would the presence of any virus indicate she was HIV positive? If it comes back "undetectable" does that mean we are in the clear?

Money really isn't an object at this point but the test is $700 so I wouldn't want to just do it unless I knew it would be useful.

[Minervinator]

If I go to LabCorp and do the regular antibody test and the western blot at 4 weeks, would that be the same result as a DUO test?  Since theoretically I would be doing regular antibody and P24 test?  Or is the western blot not checking for the p24 antigen (it's confusing based on the description)?

[noname320]

as of my research i found the below tests from Labcorp.com

083824 Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1/O/2 (HIV-1/O/2) Antibodies, Preliminary Test With Confirmation
005462 Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) Antibody, Confirmation Western Blot (p24 test)
083850 Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1/O/2 (HIV-1/O/2) Antibody With Reflex to Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT).

hope for the best. good luck

[RainLover71]

You need to find out where the DUO might be avaliable,I know that you have them in the USA,just don,t know where,what cities,etc.Have a look on line and see which clinics are offering them.

[Minervinator]

I live in the US so the DUO test is not available.  Is there a site that shows testing locations for other 4th generation assays in the US?  I don't care what the cost would be...

[RainLover71]

A PCR is not a standalone test and must always be followed up by an antibody test at 12 weeks post-exposure for a 100% conclusive result.You are much better of have a DUO test at 4 weeks that looks for both p24 antigen and antibodies,that,s when the p24antigen peaks and is most accurate,around 99%.Even if your PCR was undetectable it doesn,t mean you are not infected,you would require testing at 12 weeks to totally rule out infection.

[Minervinator]

I guess I should add a 4th question then:

4. Why would a PCR test that comes back as negative need to be followed up by an antibody test months later?  Is that a 1% thing?

If I can get 99% confirmation at two weeks, the $700 is worth every penny.

[Pooya]

3 months post exposure HIV test is the only way to get a conclusive result. Tests will give you results such as Negative or Non reactive