HIV Antibodies

We all know that Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a virus that causes the disease AIDS. Herein, the entire immune system of the patient starts degenerating and the victim falls prey to various opportunistic infections, that a healthy body can usually resist. The HIV, falls under the lentivirus group. That is, it replicates very slowly, and takes time to get ripened to cause any chronic diseases.

In order to fight the HIV virus, our body produces some protein substances, designed to resist these HIV virus and hinder its replication. These protein substances produced by our body, are called HIV antibodies. These are substances that favor our immunity system and strive to save us from HIV. HIV antibodies are produced by our white blood cells (WBC), when they come in contact with HIV. Presence of HIV antibodies actually determines the possibilities of HIV virus in our body. These antibodies are not pre-existing substances. They are formed in reaction to the presence of HIV virus in our body, thereby warning us that our body is in danger.

Therefore, every person who goes through the risk of HIV contraction through sexual intercourse, drug injection or any other means should go for a HIV antibody test. The presence of antibodies will ensure the presence of HIV virus in the body.

HIV antibodies are not detected as soon as the person contracts the disease. It takes a few weeks or even a couple of months, for the antibodies to be formed in plenty. In most cases, the average period of its formation is two weeks. However, they are not detected immediately after the contraction of the disease. Therefore, the test should be conducted frequently, within a span of three months, till HIV antibodies are actually found.

HIV antibodies exist it the patient's blood, urine and oral fluid. Presence of HIV antibodies in urine does not mean that HIV can be contracted by sharing the toilet. They are only the antibodies and not the HIV virus. One should also, not confuse oral fluid with saliva. HIV antibodies are not found in saliva, but in the mucosal secretion of the patient's gums.

How HIV Antibodies can be tested?

There are various ways in which HIV antibodies may be tested. They can be tested through:

• Blood – with oraquick test, Unigold test, conventional blood test
• Oral fluid – Orasure test, which tests the mucosal fluid from the gums of our teeth
• Urine- although it has less concentration of HIV antibodies, they can be occasionally detected through the ELISA method
• Other tests include p24 antigen test
• CD4 and CD8 test: these count the number of these cells in your body. If it falls below 200, you are likely to be having HIV and HIV antibodies in you.

However, one should not completely rely on urine test for detecting HIV antibodies. They are too less in number in the human urine. The best place to detect HIV antibodies is blood, where the virus and the antibodies are well-concentrated.