How Accurate Is The Alere Rapid HIV Test

Many people have questions about how accurate is the Alere rapid HIV test. In this blog I hope to help answer questions about how it's accuracy but also factors that will impact on it's accuracy.

When it come to a HIV test it's important to understand 3 aspects of how they work. The first is what the particular test actually tests for. The second is what was the particular exposure to HIV and finally how long ago was the exposure to HIV.

What Does The Alere Rapid HIV Test Check For?

The Alere 4th generation rapid HIV test checkes for 3 important molecules that happen in HIV infection.

The first two are for antibodies to HIV1 and HIV2. Both these antibodies are produced after a person has been infected with the HIV virus. HIV antibodies are detectable in the blood 20-34 days after after the initial exposure and infection with HIV.

The third molecule that is detected in the Alere HIV test is a protein called P24. This is a protein that is produced very early after infection as part of the HIV seroconversion illness. This can be detectable as early as 14 days after infection.

While all 3 proteins can be detected by 20 days this is not a guarantee and for this reason it's important to have a second test outside of the HIV window period.

What Is The HIV Window Period?

The HIV window period is that time between the exposure to HIV and the time we would expect to know 100% sure that a person has or has not been infected with the AIDS virus, HIV.

Normally we consider this to be 90 days. 

As I noted above the Alere Test is able to detect HIV as early as 14 days however some people may take longer for the antibodies and P24 to be detectable by the test. For this reason we always recommend that people have a second test at least 90 days after the potential exposure to HIV.

What we do know is that the Alere 4th gen test is very sensitive, which means that if it's after 90 days and the test comes back negative we can feel safe and satisfied that you have not been infected with HIV. i.e. you are HIV negative.

What was your HIV risk level?

For many people there is great concern about potential exposure to HIV. It's important to know that the main ways that HIV is transmitted is via receptive or insertive anal or vaginal sex without a condom to protect.

Many are concerned about the risk of oral sex however the risk is actually so low that it's considered from a practical term to be zero. That said recent dental work, bleeding gums or an oral infection does increase the risk of HIV transmission.

So to answer the question "what is the risk of getting HIV from oral sex?". The answer is a qualified "zero"

If you have any concerns the key is to make sure you get a HIV test to know your status. You can have this test organised by any doctor who is offering the rapid HIV test.

As you can see rapid HIV testing is a safe an effective way to be screened for HIV however there are some limitations.