Expert: Kristen Brannock, MPH - 6/28/2007

Question
QUESTION: Sir
I had sex with a prostitute with condom and condom breaks and open contact only for 2-3 seconds with little hole in condom , i was tooooo scared and worried

I was feel sooo tired after 2-3 weeeks and
==== after 4 weeks i got my rapid test nagetive .
==== after six weeks i feel headache and sore Thoat ( Tonsills in throat )
I was very tense
After six weeks I found that prostitute and request her to test and then got her test nagetive .

But still so tense , please tell me should i relax now
I m soo tense
please help me  


ANSWER: There is no question here, but assuming that the sex worker did not just contract HIV, then she couldnt have passed it to you. However, if she had contracted it recently herself, she would still be in the window period and her test would not be definitive. The window period for HIV testing is 1-3 months.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanx for answer

Now today after 7 1/2 weeks , i m going for both rapid and westren Blot Test , Please tell me as the Labortery person says the westtern Blot is Confirmatory test after 2-3 weeks

Is It ?
I have still one swollen tonsils

Please answer
I m so Scared
I will get The result of western Blot test after 3 days

Please answer
Is it confirmatory after 52 days

Please answer

Answer
As far as I know, it is not standard testing procedure to automatically use the Western Blot. The sample is tested first with the ELISA and then, only if the ELISA is positive, is the sample tested with the Western Blot.

The Western Blot is a more sensitive test but you only receive this test *if* you test positive on the first test. As a result, if you test in the window period for the ELISA test, you can receive a false negative- and because the result is negative, the sample will never be tested with the Western Blot. So, you need to test outside of the window period for a definitive result which means waiting at least 3 months post-exposure.