Now health care professionals have a quick tool that can independently distinguishes in a single test HIV antigen from HIV antibodies. Early infections yield antigen positive while only when the body starts fighting do HIV antibody develop.
Why this is a ‘big deal’ is you could be walking around undiagnosed spreading HIV infection because your body has not made antibodies. NOW infection can be recognized, treatment, and prevent spreading HIV infeon. At this writing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in US each year approximately 50,000 people are infected with HIV. Of the more than 1 million people living with HIV, approximately 20% have not been diagnosed.
BACKGROUND: Being injected with the HIV virus can lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. This virus damages your body’s immune (defense) system – by destroying CD4+ T blood cells which are key to fighting diseases. At present there are two types of the virus- HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is worldwide while to date HIV-2 is mostly in West Africa, although increasingly HIV-2 is being reported cases in Europe and North America.
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