Does anyone know about HIV/AIDS infection?

[Nighbynight]

Is it possible, for someone whose last contact with HIV infection was around 4 years ago, and who has tested negative for HIV several times since then, to suddenly test positive now?

It is not me or anyone in my family! but a situation that I came across recently, and being slightly involved on the fringes, so to speak, am wondering about the likelihood of the above scenario.

I had heard the 3 month thing as well, which is why this tale struck me as fishy.

I know of someone who was tested. They were told the test would be unlikely to show up infection which had only occurred in the past 3 months too.

I guess armed with that info you may be able to find out how reliable a test post 3 months actually is on a reliable internet site.

I think it's usual to say that an infection should show up within 6 months of contact, maximum. There could always be an unusual case tho - depends on the persons' immune system - very rare though. If someone's positive in one test, further tests will be done to check, and false positives in the first screen may happen (wrong sample tested etc), but if an infection is confirmed then doesn't make a difference, really? Perhaps last known potential contact was 4 years ago, but then maybe more recent contact may have occurred without knowing?
A lot of it about - and on the increase, sadly.

presumably the person involved must have considered they were at risk if they were being routinely tested on such a regular basis?

Testing should show up infection within six months, however it is possible to be HIV positive for years without knowing, and for this to only show up if you had test years down the track.

sounds dodgy to me. The infection IMO would have had to have taken place in the past year.

from a website called aids st john - copied and pasted

I recently had unprotected sex with someone, under the influence of alcohol. Immediately I acknowledged that this person has not been tested and could potentially be infected with HIV. I douched after this to clean everything, but still know I am at high risk. Is there anything else I can do to avoid infection or should I have to

wait and get tested later on?

If you are very concerned that this person may be at high risk of being infected with HIV, you may want to go to the Emergency room and discuss
your concerns with a physician. There exists medication that can be given to people who have had high risk exposure and at high risk of
being infected with HIV. Usually, it is best to get the medication soon after, I mean even hours after the exposure.
You should also consider testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections now. Testing can be done at Sexual health center 55 Union St,
Saint John ( 658-3998) or at AIDS Saint John on Tuesday PM. If you are tested for HIV now (i.e.days after the contact)the test would not detect
if you were infected from that incident but it would let you know your current HIV status. After a risky contact, HIV can be detected in the
blood starting 6 weeks after the risky contact. If test is negative, then there is a need to repeat the test 12 weeks after ( usuallly 95% of
infection would be detected at that time) If test result is negative after 12 weeks then repeat 6 months from the incident. If test is
negative after 6 months, this indicates that the person is probably free from of HIV infection.

Washing up after having sex may help decrease the risk of infection. The HIV transmission guidelines published by the Canadian AIDS society
discourages douching since it can compromise the normal protection from germs in the vagina. I hope this helps. If you have other questions or
comments, I can be reached at 506-643-7404 (Lucie)

I was trained as a HIV counsellor. The tests have changed somewhat over the last three years but are 99.5% effective. Which means within three months of exposure, 99.5% of infections will be picked up with the tests. With repeated tests, obviously the chances of a positive being missed diminish massively.

It is possible for it to take up to six months for an infection to show up - e.g. in a newborn, or in someone whose immune system was already compromised. However it's really unheard of for it to take longer than a year.

I hope that sets your mind at rest.

thanks everyone. confirms what I suspected. My suspicion is that the story is untrue (attention-seeker), but will proceed very carefully.