Could It Be HIV Are My Tests Conclusive?

Posted on Wed, 4 Sep 2024

Question: I had HIV symptoms that started at 2 weeks from exposure, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat. These got worse weeks 4-7 night sweats, body aches, weight loss, burning sensation on skin, muscle mass reduction, groin pain, extreme hunger, going to stool 10 times a day, etc, but I have tested negative for HIV with 4th gen at 3, 4, 5, 7, 11 weeks, and RNA qualitative negative at 3 and 7 weeks, could it be HIV? are my tests conclusive?

Answered by Dr. Sankaranantham Murugan (15 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You are almost free from HIV infection.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for posting your query.
You are free from HIV. Your tests are conclusive and reliable. Fourth generation test is very much accurate and reliable up to 99%. especially 4-6 weeks after any type of exposure, similarly RNA qualitative PCR is also highly reliable 3 weeks after the exposure (It may be sensitive after a week onwards).
Earliest symptoms of HIV (Primary HIV infection or acute infection) can occur only 4-6 weeks after the exposure. Anything earlier is very much unlikely due to HIV infection. All the symptoms explained by you can occur with any viral infection to anybody at any time.
So, not to worry.
Your symptoms were not due to HIV
DR S Murugan

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar