What is an HIV antibody test?
When HIV enters the body, it begins to attack certain white blood cells called T4 lymphocyte cells (helper cells). Your doctor may also call them CD4 cells. The immune system then produces antibodies to fight off the infection. Although these antibodies are ineffective in destroying HIV, their presence is used to confirm HIV infection. Therefore, the presence of antibodies to HIV result from HIV infection. HIV tests look for the presence of HIV antibodies; they do not test for the virus itself.
An antibody test is the most common type of test used to diagnose HIV in individuals. This test shows whether a person has been infected with HIV by looking for HIV antibodies in a person’s blood. When HIV enters a person’s body, special proteins are produced, which are known as antibodies. Antibodies are the body’s response to an infection. So if a person has specific antibodies against HIV in their blood, it means they have been infected with HIV (an exception is the case of an HIV negative baby born to a positive mother, who will retain her antibodies for some months). Depending on the clinic, the test results from an antibody test can come back in under an hour (in the case of a rapid HIV antibody tests), or may take a few days or weeks (in the case of standard antibody tests).
An antibody test is one type of HIV test. This test shows whether a person has been infected with HIV. This test looks for HIV antibodies in a person’s blood. When HIV enters a person’s body, special chemicals are produced. These are called antibodies. Antibodies are the body’s response to an infection. So if a person has antibodies to HIV in their blood, it means they have been infected with HIV (an exception is the case of an HIV negative baby born to a positive mother, who will retain her antibodies for some months). Depending on the clinic, the test results can take from a few days up to three weeks.
