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What Do These HIV Test Results Indicate?

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Posted on Tue, 6 Oct 2015
Question: What does negative HIV Mean, but also having a reactive CH
What does reactive mean?
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Answered by Dr. Sankaranantham Murugan (53 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Reactive test means that individual is having the disease.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to HCM.
Thanks for posting your query.

Interpretation of a test result expressed as 'reactive' means that the individual had been infected with that disease whereas 'non reactive' means that either the individual has not been infected with that organism or remain within the widow period for that test. (That is disease might be present and and the test is not able to identify - body will take sometime to produce antibodies against any disease during which time the test would show negative in presence of the disease). It has to be correlated with history, clinical findings and supporting confirmatory tests. Negative means the test is not able to pick up any evidence for the disease as there may be no disease or it might be earlier to detect.
Dr S.Murugan
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sankaranantham Murugan

HIV AIDS Specialist

Practicing since :1974

Answered : 3110 Questions

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What Do These HIV Test Results Indicate?

Brief Answer: Reactive test means that individual is having the disease. Detailed Answer: Hi, Welcome to HCM. Thanks for posting your query. Interpretation of a test result expressed as 'reactive' means that the individual had been infected with that disease whereas 'non reactive' means that either the individual has not been infected with that organism or remain within the widow period for that test. (That is disease might be present and and the test is not able to identify - body will take sometime to produce antibodies against any disease during which time the test would show negative in presence of the disease). It has to be correlated with history, clinical findings and supporting confirmatory tests. Negative means the test is not able to pick up any evidence for the disease as there may be no disease or it might be earlier to detect. Dr S.Murugan