Bloodborne Pathogens

Becky Kuhn, M.D., answers the top ten questions about the HIV test and how different HIV tests are used together during HIV testing:
1) How do HIV tests work?
2) What are the window period and false negatives?
3) How long after exposure to HIV does it take for a person to get an HIV positive test result?
4) What's the risk of a false positive on the initial ELISA HIV test?
5) What's the risk of a false positive diagnosis after a Western Blot HIV test?
6) Can I be HIV tested for free?
7) Can I be HIV tested without revealing my name?
8) Do I have to be stuck with a needle to take an HIV test?
9) If I test HIV positive, does that mean I'm going to develop AIDS and die?
10) Why should I get tested for HIV?

She also explains: anonymous HIV testing; confidential, name-based HIV testing; home-based testing for HIV-1; and use of the PCR Test for detection of HIV infection during the window period. There is a 98.5% chance that an "HIV positive" result on an initial ELISA test is correct (and a 1.5% chance that it was a false positive). There is a 99.9996% chance that an "HIV positive" result after an initial ELISA and a confirmatory Western Blot test is correct (and 1 chance in 250,000 that it was a false positive). HIV denialists (people who deny that HIV is the cause of AIDS) often exaggerate the frequency of false positives and ignore the fact that a person must get an "HIV positive" result on BOTH the initial ELISA *and* the confirmatory Western Blot test before the person is given a diagnosis of "HIV positive." If you have taken both an ELISA test and a Western Blot test and your doctor tells you you are HIV positive, believe them!

This video refutes myths and misinformation about the HIV test from videos "Lee Evans Speaks Out About the HIV Tests," "Deconstructing the Myth of AIDS," "AIDS Inc.," "The Other Side of AIDS," and "House of Numbers." It also debunks the claims of HIV denialists like Peter Duesberg, Stefan Lanka, Kary Mullis, Celia Farber, Christine Maggiore, Gary Null, Andrew Maniotis, the Perth Group, Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos, David Rasnick, Valendar Turner, Robin Scovill, Brent Leung, David Crowe, Walter Gilbert, Harvey Bialy, Rebecca Culshaw, Roberto Giraldo, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and Matthias Rath. Visit http://aidstruth.org/denialism/denial..., http://www.GlobalLifeworks.org and http://AIDSvideos.org to learn more.