Medical Diagnosis Exams

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), belongs to the family of retroviruses.

HIV can be transmitted through contaminated blood and blood products, through sexual contact or from an HIV infected mother to her child before, during and after birth.

Antibodies to HIV proteins, indicating the presence of an HIV infection, can be found in the serum usually 6‑12 weeks after infection, according to other sources 3-8 weeks after infection.

By detecting the HIV‑1 p24 antigen in blood specimens of recently infected patients with a high viral load, HIV infection can be detected about 6 days earlier than with traditional antibody assays.