• HIV
• CHLAMYDIA
• GONORRHEA
• CHLAMYDIA AND GONORRHEA
• HERPES
• SYPHILIS
• HEPATITIS
• SPECIAL STD PANELS

HIV-1 PCR Testing

$249.00

The HIV PCR sensitivity limit per individual sample is approximately 50-2000 copies/mL according to the different methodologies used.

• This test detects acute infection prior to seroconversion. It does so by performing HIV-PCR test in association to the HIV-ELISA antibodies test. The PCR tests is approved by the FDA only for people with AIDS and taking medications but has become popular also as a diagnostic tool. That is the reason why we associate a free HIV ELISA antibodies.

  
  

• Earlier diagnosis leads to earlier referral for appropriate care and preservation of health.

  
  

• If the test is negative the person is almost 100% sure to be negative for the presence of HIV1 viruses.

  
  

• A recent study has shown that this test is able to detect the presence of HIV virus 6 to 42 days prior to a positive HIV-ELISA antibodies test and is conclusive (almost 100%) 28 days from exposure.

  
  

• HIV - PCR stands for HIV- Polymerase Chain Reaction and is also known as Viral Load testing because it looks for the presence of the Immuno Deficiency Virus in your blood. Contrary to the HIV-Elisa Antibodies test the HIV-PCR is the direct measurement of the amount of HIV particles present in the blood. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology amplifies even the smallest amount of Virus particle millions of time, and since this test identifies and measures the genetic material (rDNA) resulting from the virus infection, is also known as Nucleic Acid test.

• Increased awareness of infection status combined with appropriate preventive counseling may significantly reduce the unknowing spread of infection.

  
  

• Two Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzed the cost-effectiveness of HIV screening. Both used different models but reached the same conclusions "routine Screening is justified, beneficial, and cost-effective."

  
  

• The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 40,000 new cases of HIV transmission occur every year.

  
  

• Several studies have suggested that individuals with primary infection may he significant contributors to the spread of HIV. These individuals have very high HIV viral load in blood and semen, are extremely infectious, and are usually unaware of their HIV status.

  
  

• Although the majority of people are symptomatic with an illness resembling infectious mononucleosis or influenza and a good percentage of these people present for care at health care facilities with "acute retroviral syndrome" (ARS), some people have no clinical symptoms.

  
  

• Several studies have suggested that individuals with primary infection
  may he significant contributors to the spread of HIV. These individuals have very high HIV viral load in blood and semen, are extremely infectious, and are usually unaware of their HIV status. In acute HIV infection and prior to seroconversion the viral burden is very high (10 to >1.000.000 copies/mL).

The period after infection with HIV but before the development of detectable antibodies is a period of active HIV replication and transient immune suppression. The number of HIV viruses rises rapidly in the plasma, often reaching levels in excess of 1 million copies per milliliter, with widespread dissemination into lymphoid organs throughout the body.

• By identifying highly contagious individuals, this test provides a public health targeting opportunity for HIV prevention.

  
  

• In acute HIV infection and prior to seroconversion the viral burden is very high (10-107 copies/mL). Therefore the use of nucleic acid testing helps in reducing the test cost per sample.

  
  

• The sensitivity limit per individual sample is approximately 2000 copies/mL.

  
  

• The PCR tests is approved by the FDA only for people with AIDS and taking medications but has become popular also as a diagnostic tool. The test may be falsely negative in people with HIV if the infection is so recent (less than 28 days old) that virus has not yet begun to produce detectable quantities of itself, or if a person is controlling the infection spontaneously or using the newly potent anti-retroviral medications and has brought the infection under control.

More on HIV PCR

Watch video of inventor of PCR methodology

Credits: Ladda Productions AB (webcasting)

High bandwidth »Low bandwidth »

In order to see the video you need RealPlayer.

HIV-1 PCR Testing

$249.00