Hi John, If you have tested negative at 6 weeks, this is a good indication of a negative HIV status however you must retest again at 12 weeks for a conclusive result. Seroconversion usually begins around 1-3 weeks after initial infection, this is the period when most people experience symptoms. If you are still experiencing symptoms at around 6 weeks it is very unlikely that these are related to HIV. Kindest regards, becky

I tested Neg using a Biosure at day 42 but still have symptoms

Hi Samy, if you wish to self test using BioSure then a negative result can only be deemed conclusive however you can test from 4 weeks post exposure as a positive result could show from that point. I hope this helps but please get back in touch if you have any further queries. Kindest regards Francesca Bard, BioSure (UK) Ltd

Hi Please can you tell me when I should make test of HIV from exposure to be very accurate.thanks

Hi Naveen  - Thanks for getting in touch. The BioSURE HIV Self Test relies on your body producing antibodies to HIV. This process is very variable from person to person. Some people will make enough antibodies to be detected after 3 or 4 week. However, some people won't make enough until 12 weeks post infection. If you have the antibodies the test will detect about 999 in every 1,000 cases. After 39 days a few more than 90% of people will have made enough. So your negative test result is very encouraging, but should not be considered as conclusive. Kind regards Gary Carpenter BioSure (UK) Limited

Sir i have protected begins sex but at the time of ejaculation condom slept completely not on my penis just hanging on begins 30 second oral sex also after 22 days i got fever i take a paracitamole and be ok after 3 days i am suffering from sore throat some red dots on my arm headache one night night sweats 39 th day i take rapid antibody test which came negative how reliable this is and what about my symptom which is still present

Thanks Gary

Hi Boz I can understand your anxiety. There are a few things to bear in mind and a couple of options. The BioSURE HIV Self Test, like the vast majority of rapid point of care type tests that are used in the NHS, detect antibodies to the virus rather than detecting the virus itself. Different people go through the process of creation of these antibodies, also known as seroconversion, at different times. So the ability of the test to correctly identify an infection is dependent more on the person being tested than the test itself. The true probability of test accuracy are difficult to absolutely define, but our best guess is that at around 5 weeks about 60% of people will have created enough of the right kind of antibodies for the test to work correctly. So that's encouraging. But, unfortunately, not conclusive. The symptoms of early seroconversion illness are the start of the body's reaction to the infection and this means the production of antibodies. Only around 60-70% of people with HIV actually develop these symptoms. In this instance it seems sensible to suggest that another test 8 weeks after exposure would be accurate. There are laboratory based tests available through NHS GUM clinics and GP surgeries that can detect the virus itself. These tests are generally accurate from about 4 weeks. So you have a couple of options to resolve this - both require testing again. I'm sorry that I can't give you a more definitive answer. Kind regards Gary Carpenter BioSure (UK) Limited