The HIV test It’s very important to have an HIV test if you
think you may have been at risk of acquiring the infection.
Early diagnosis and treatment can help you live a long and
active life, and also helps prevent spreading the infection to
others. There are a number of different tests used to determine
whether someone is infected with the HIV virus but the one most
commonly used is the HIV antibody test. An HIV test doesn’t test
for whether the virus itself is present, but whether your body
has made antibodies to the virus. It is usually done in two
stages and involves giving a small blood sample that will be
analysed in a laboratory: Stage 1 HIV test – initial screening
involves either an enzyme immune assay (EIA) or the enzyme-
linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). If the results from this
test are negative, no further tests are performed. If the
results are positive you will need a stage 2 HIV test. Stage 2
HIV test – this is the “Western Blot” test which detects certain
proteins in the blood sample and can