for educational purposes?

Hi Guys,

this is an educational question for my own benefit as well as others, i am in the middle of putting a Q&A together for my health class.

1) As I have asked in other forums what generation tests are hiv-1 and hiv-2.  I am in australian and tests are requried to test for both but dont know what generation this is?

2) Also in relation to tattoos, what is the chances of getting HIV from say dirty equipment or ink exposed to others blood?

3) Standard "window period" is 12 weeks, but with newer tests is 6-8 weeks (do we all agree??)  .  Are tests say at 11 weeks still reliable or do people need testing at exactly 12 weeks.

Thanks for your help, any reply is geatly appreciated...

[Xhost]

Hello Brambles, nice to meet you. I'll take a shot at answering your questions. Hopefully if I get something wrong, someone will come behind me and correct my inaccuracies.

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1) As I have asked in other forums what generation tests are hiv-1 and hiv-2. I am in australian and tests are requried to test for both but dont know what generation this is?

A: I believe the latest generation of tests are considered 4th generation.
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2) Also in relation to tattoos, what is the chances of getting HIV from say dirty equipment or ink exposed to others blood?

A: Given the nature of tattooing, you would think it might happen once or twice a year to some unlucky soul, given the following set of circumstances:

1. The person who last recieved a tattoo was HIV +
2. That tattoo artist did not change needles
3. The tattoo artist did not sterilize the equipment
4. The next person in line received a tattoo with the dirty needle fairly soon after the HIV positive tattoo recipient.

However, having said this, the risk is purely theoretical - based on my own reading, no one has been documented to have gotten HIV this way. The CDC, of course, maintains that receiving a tattoo is a risk, but then a lot of activities are listed as theoretical risks, and no one has ever been shown to have gotten HIV as a result of having done any of them.

So, the short answer is: Sure, it might be possible, but so is getting hit by lightning. And frankly, that may not be a good example, because documented cases of people getting hit by lightning occur every year. So, maybe a better way to say it is: Sure, it might be possible, but so is getting hit by a meteor.
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3) Standard "window period" is 12 weeks, but with newer tests is 6-8 weeks (do we all agree??) . Are tests say at 11 weeks still reliable or do people need testing at exactly 12 weeks.

A: The "standard window period" really isn't so standard. One thing I realized after reading and investigating is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on the window period. The doc here, whom I trust, says, in most cases, 6 weeks is conclusive. The Massachusets Department of Health says that 6 weeks is definitely conclusive. The CDC has changed from 6 months to 3 months. Other organizations also say 3 months. Still others, such as a well known HIV care provider in Virginia and DC (the Whitman Walker Clinic) maintains that 3 months is good, though at least one of the counselors I spoke to there said 6 months.

Whew. My hope is that as the 4th generation tests come into greater use, a standard window period of 6 weeks will become the new norm. Mass. has already made the change, and my belief is that other organizations will as well.

So, long answer short: 12 weeks, or 3 months, seems to be the concensus window period, for now. 6 weeks, with a few exceptions, seems to be the emerging concensus.
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Please, anyone reading this after I post it, feel free to correct anything I may have gotten wrong.

Good luck with your Q&A!

[brambles26]

thanks for that.... it is really helpful..

a couple of follow up questions:

1) do 1,2nd and 3rd generation tests test for hiv1 and 2?

2)so do you agree with Dr hhh that there is no difference between 10-12 week tests. That the reliability is 100%?

[burris]

Generation of test and whether they are testing for HIV 1/2 are mutually exclusive issues.

In the US, many kits test for both HIV 1/2, although it may vary where you live. Whenever you test, you should ask what thest is checking for.  they usually tell you as part of the counseling process.

I would trust the 10 week result, based on the Doctor's experience.  One of the reasons cited for such a discrepancy in the window period is that many people are somewhat unreliable in determining the timing of their last risk, so the longer number seems to be in there is mitigate the memory factor of those being tested.  My opinion, based on reading only.