HIV-2 risk

[santafe521]

I am a healthy male that had uprotected sex with a Slovakian woman of the middle or upper class. At 2 months post exposure I got tested for HIV antibodies 1/O/2. The test is a Labcorp test and is coded 83824. It can be easily found on their website. Anyway the test has 100 percent sensitivity and 99.9 specitivity for HIV type 1. For type 2 the specificity is 95-98 percent according to a representative of the online testing company I went through who consulted a serologist at labcorp on my request. This includes the possibility of false positives along with false negatives. I am aware that HIV 2 is extremely rare in the the US but what about Slovakia and cental Europe? I have an anxiety disorder and have worked myself up over type 2 HIV. Can I forget about it? If not, do modern HIV-2 specific tests really take 6 months to be accurate? Thanks for your time.

[Dr. Jose Gonzalez-Garcia, MD, MRCGP, PhD]

Hello,
Thank you for your post and welcome to our forum.
The test that you had is a very reliable one and would detect HIV-2 as well as HIV-1 antibodies.  You can consider it final and fully conclusive.  In any case, HIV-2 is extremely rare and has been mainly described in parts of West Africa, not in Egypt and not in Europe.  The reason why is so rare is because it is less likely to infect, being less infectious than HIV-1.
You can forget about it.  You are definitely HIV negative.  No need to have any further tests.
Best wishes,
Dr José

[santafe521]

Apologies about my previous comment if there is confusion, it was directed towards someone posing as a physician on your forum whose comments have apparently been deleted. Anyway, I am also curious if the fact the woman mentioned previously traveling to Egypt increases her likelihood of having HIV-2. My limited research has told me that both Egypt and central europe have minimal HIV-2 but I anxiety drives my to ask. Thank you so much for your time.

[santafe521]

I am comfortable with a 2 month waiting period (unless strongly urged otherwise by an HIV specialist). The purpose of this question was to inquire on the accuracy of the test I took in picking up HIV2 and the risk of HIV2 given my exposure. The HIV2 specific test I was referring to as possibly taking is different than the test I actually took as it is an ELISA test. The HIV 1/O/2 test is I took is ICMA. Thanks for your input cs28 but I came here seeking the counsel of a physician. By the way, doctors, the results on the aforementioned test at 8 weeks were negative. I was a little vague in my original post. Thanks for your time.