Question about the test

Hi, I have a question about the time of test HIV. Why in our country(china), many experts claim that the test of 6
weeks is very significative, and the test of 8 week is conclusive.But in this forum, the expert says the windos period is 3 month. Is the test of 8 week really persuasive???Thanks for your explanation

[David12341234]

I posit this question because I tested for the 4th week, 6th week, and for the 8th week, the results are negative.I really want to keep my mind peaceful, but the wait for the test of three month bore me a lot. In the chinese forum, the people often said that the windos period of 8 weeks is for the normal person, but the windos period  of 3 month is for the person who taken a drug, of had a chirurgic operation. Is it right?Thanks a lot

[EA1]

the odds are with you... but just to be 100% sure test at 12 weeks

[NickOne7]

3 months is conclusive

[David12341234]

Thanks, NickOne, but I just found this in the expert foum:

" by Edward W Hook, MD, Oct 12, 2010 07:11PM
............ Further, your 8/21 and 9/14 test results are definitive.  We get many questions about the meaning of HIV test results at different time points.  This is now confused by the availability of a variety of different types of tests.  The traditional and most widely used tests for HIV are tests for antibodies to HIV which are available both as so-called "rapid" or point of care tests which can be done in the clinic and laboratory based antibody tests. For all practical purposes both of these types of test perform comparably and provide accurate information on the presence or absence of HIV infection in virtually everyone at 8 weeks following exposure.  The recommendations for testing at 3 and even 6 months are the result of two factors- data from older tests no longer used (you really do not need to worry about which generation of tests you were tested with, at this time virtually all tests are far more sensitive that they were even 2-3 years ago when the 3 month recommendation was made) and secondly, the fact that some, mostly governmental agencies which have to provide recommendations for virtually everyone without the sort of interactions such as those you get with your doctor or on personalized sites such as this one, feel the cannot "afford" to be wrong and therefore make recommendations and guidelines which leave most people unnecessarily nervous for 4-6 weeks longer than the 6-8 weeks it takes virtually everyone to develop HIV antibodies......  

Take care.  EWH "

So I think the windos period of 6-8weeks is right . Thanks

[David12341234]

The reply from Dr. Hook in other question included this:

"If you choose to be tested, you can have complete confidence in an 8 week test result.  In the past few years the tests have gotten much, much better in terms of time to positive tests. In our own practices, in the literature and in conversation with other experts, we have not found anyone who has seen a person take more than 8 weeks following exposure to develop a positive HIV test and in most cases, it takes less than 8 weeks."

[David12341234]

"There have been many discussions on this forum about our advice versus others'.  The main factor is that official agencies -- perhaps especially those run by governments, such as health departments, CDC, etc -- tend to take hyper-conservative positions.  In other cases, they just haven't changed their advice over the years as new and better tests have come into use.

And you entirely missed the most important part of Dr. Hook's reply last July:  You were not at risk for HIV and did not need testing to start with.  Period.

You did not catch HIV.  Time to move on.

HHH, MD"

[Teak]

CDC has nothing to do with the approvals of the tests, it's the manufacture and the FDA.