Category: Diagnosing HIV infection in a child

What are the advantages of diagnosing HIV infection early?

There are many advantages of diagnosing HIV infection early in infants. If the infant has not been breastfed, PCR testing can screen the infant for HIV infection at 6 weeks after delivery. Most infants will be negative and their parents can be reassured. These infants do not need the routine care offered to HIV-exposed infants [...]

How is HIV infection diagnosed?

In older children (and adults) the ELISA or rapid screening tests are used to confirm the diagnosis of HIV infection. These tests detect antibodies against HIV in the blood and usually become positive between 2 to 6 weeks after the infection (i.e. after the window period for the screening tests). As maternal HIV antibodies cross [...]