1) I have TOTALLY wiped hiv-1 off the list with  my duo tests along with my viral load quantitative as well as hiv-1 qualitative rna?

2)to totally rule out hiv-2 no matter how rare, you wouldn’t advise/suggest hiv-2 proviral dna? Why/why not?

3)regarding hiv-2 only, is 6 weeks still conclusive with the duo or do you need a specific eia?

4)do you need to wait 3 months for a conclusive result for hiv-2 because of its slower progression?

5)would a Multispot hiv 1/2 be a better screening test at this point?

6)how can I be TOTALLY sure it’s not hiv-2 in any way ? Different tests, timeframe, etc?

It’s not just “in my head”   There is something definitely wrong health wise and i need to do all I can. I haven’t opened up with my wife because of all other negative tests. 

I need to figure this out. 

Thank you

I'm sorry you are having trouble accepting that you were not infected by your exposure back in November and are seriously considering that you might have HIV-2.  FYI, HIV is  rare in China, estimated to infect less than 0.04 (4 out of every 10,000) Chinese.  In china HIV is primarily found in injection drug users and men with male sex partners, not CSWs.  I'll go directly to your questions:

1.  Correct.

2.  See comments about HIV-2 2hich is rare even in West Africa where it has been most commonly reported.  Further your repeated combination tests would most likely have detected HIV-2 antibodies by this time.  HIV-2 PCR tests are not well standardized and are prone to false positive results. 

3.  At 6 weeks well over 90% of persons with HIV-2 would have developed antibodies and had a positive test at that time because of this.

4.  No, test result positivity rates are not delayed in persons with HIV-2.  Rather, the course of diseases is somewhat milder once infected.

5.No.

6. I have not good answer, just as I have no way to prove that your wife's symptoms are not due to an alien from outer space.  We have the tests, the results and all logic indicate that you do not have HIV.  You need to believe the test.  Really.  EWH

1) can ars symptoms start a week after and last this long? Five weeks now!

2)I got a complete blood work up and all was normal. My question is, generally may you get some oddities in some lab results with acute illness?  Like decreased platelets, lymphocytes being abnormal or other abnormal ? Or could you still have perfectly normal labs?

3)if you were seroconverting with hiv-2 and had symptoms , would generally the test return a positive result?

4) so when will a hiv test for hiv-2 be absolutely conclusive? Do I need to do one specifically for hiv-2 or duo ok? I’ve read where may need specific hiv-2 eia to be more sensitive. 

5) I know you said no to the proviral hiv-2 dna, but if it retuned a negative, would that be conclusive?( test info says if not detected not necessarily can exclude hiv-2)

6)returning  to hiv-1, is it possibly that there was not enough viral rna in the blood in the acute phase to be detected for a qualitative OR quantitative test? 

Thank you

I am not denying your symptoms, but I am denying that they are due to HIV.  The discomfort you are having however is not typical of HIV and it is my sincere concern that your continuing efforts to link it to HIV following their coincidental onset soon after a sexual encounter outside of your marriage could be hindering finding out what is really going on.  Your linking your symptoms, as well as your wife's recent illness (occurring in the midst of ongoing flu season) suggest that guilt may be a contributing factor.  On to your questions:

1.  The symptoms of the ARS typically last 7-10 days, 14 at the outside.  The duration of your symptoms is inconsistent with HIV.

2.  Normal blood tests are little help.  Had they been abnormal, that might have provided a clue to what was going on but normal blood tests are not helpful.

3.  Yes,  The symptoms of the ARS occur as a result of interactions between antibodies which are beginning to be formed and circulating virus.  Early in ARS only the antigen (or PCR test may be positive) and later antibodies are detectable as well.  If your symptoms were due to the ARS, your combination tests would have been positive.

4.  At six weeks you would have produced antibodies detectable by the combination tests.  Test results at six weeks are conclusive.

5.  Again, currently available HIV-2 DNA tests are not standardized and vary from lab to lab.  It is hard to know what they would be mean.  Of course, I also already know that you do not have HIV (1 or 2).

6.  Sigh, yes.  Persons with untreated HIV had tens of thousands of viruses present in each drop of blood.  The combination of a negative PCR test and a negative combination test at any time beyond 4 weeks is proof that you do not have HIV.

EWH

— 20,29,36 day duo  hiv 1/2 negative 

—29 day quantitative hiv-1 negative 

—36 day qualitative  hiv-1 negatives

Needed to make sure you were clear on testing timeline, In case that redirects your answers, even so on hiv-2. 

1)to finish this point, hiv-1 Of any sort has absolutely been ruled out ?

2)is there any way that the 4 week duo/quantitative as well as 5 week duo/qualitative could all give false negatives as those timeframes?(not sensitive enough)

3)if I was an elite controller, would it take longer for my pcr/duo to show positive?

4)when and what kind of test(eia hiv-2 specific ab or duo) do I have to do to make sure without any doubt it’s conclusive?

5)I understand that type 2 is rare, but it seems it may indeed take 3 or even up to 6 months from what I have read. Is that true?

6) so my last test was at 36 days(duo/qualitative), when/If I need to test again to finalize the answer for both types?

7)last and repeated, I should have no reservations about having sex with my wife with my tests done so far?  I don’t want to put in any jeopardy if I already haven’t. 

Thank you for your time. Btw- I am working with my dr to figure symptoms out. As said though, all my testing has been undertaken under my direction though online/labcorp testing. 

Thank you  very much 

1.  Yes

2. No

3. No, the PCR test would still be positive if you were an elite controller. 

4.  All current antibodies tests perform similarly for detection of HIV-2.  The choice is yours.

5.  You are spending too much time on the internet. That is incorrect.

6.  Your results at 36 days are about 99% conclusive.  Testing at 6 weeks (42 days) will be conclusive

7.  Correct.

This concludes this thread which will be closed in a few hours.  When it is, n further questions will be accepted and further posits will be deleted without comment and without reimbursement of your fee.  I hope, for your sake, that you will be able to overcome your unwarranted fear that you are infected with HIV.  EWH