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New BASHH/EAGA Guidelines (November 2014)
BASHH/EAGA statement on HIV window period
November 2014
HIV testing using the latest (fourth generation) tests is recommended in the BHIVA / BASHH / BIS UK guidelines for HIV testing (2008). These assays test for HIV antibodies and p24 antigen simultaneously. A fourth generation HIV test on a venous blood sample performed in a laboratory will detect the great majority of individuals who have been infected with HIV at 4 weeks after specific exposure.
Patients attending for HIV testing who identify a specific risk occurring less than 4 weeks previously should not be made to wait before HIV testing as doing so may miss an opportunity to diagnose HIV infection (and in particular acute HIV infection during which a person is highly infectious). They should be offered a fourth generation laboratory HIV test and be advised to repeat it when 4 weeks have elapsed from the time of the last exposure.
A negative result on a fourth generation test performed at 4 weeks post-exposure is highly likely to exclude HIV infection. A further test at 8 weeks post-exposure need only be considered following an event assessed as carrying a high risk of infection.
Patients at ongoing risk of HIV infection should be advised to retest at regular intervals.
Patients should be advised to have tests for other sexually transmitted infections in line with advice on window periods for those infections (see BASHH guidelines at: www.bashh.org ).
Dr Keith Radcliffe - Chair, BASHH Clinical Effectiveness Group
Dr Laura Waters - Chair, BASHH HIV Special Interest Group
Prof Brian Gazzard - Chair, Expert Advisory Group on AIDS
Dr Jan Clarke – President, British Association for Sexual Health and HIVN
November 2014
HIV testing using the latest (fourth generation) tests is recommended in the BHIVA / BASHH / BIS UK guidelines for HIV testing (2008). These assays test for HIV antibodies and p24 antigen simultaneously. A fourth generation HIV test on a venous blood sample performed in a laboratory will detect the great majority of individuals who have been infected with HIV at 4 weeks after specific exposure.
Patients attending for HIV testing who identify a specific risk occurring less than 4 weeks previously should not be made to wait before HIV testing as doing so may miss an opportunity to diagnose HIV infection (and in particular acute HIV infection during which a person is highly infectious). They should be offered a fourth generation laboratory HIV test and be advised to repeat it when 4 weeks have elapsed from the time of the last exposure.
A negative result on a fourth generation test performed at 4 weeks post-exposure is highly likely to exclude HIV infection. A further test at 8 weeks post-exposure need only be considered following an event assessed as carrying a high risk of infection.
Patients at ongoing risk of HIV infection should be advised to retest at regular intervals.
Patients should be advised to have tests for other sexually transmitted infections in line with advice on window periods for those infections (see BASHH guidelines at: www.bashh.org ).
Dr Keith Radcliffe - Chair, BASHH Clinical Effectiveness Group
Dr Laura Waters - Chair, BASHH HIV Special Interest Group
Prof Brian Gazzard - Chair, Expert Advisory Group on AIDS
Dr Jan Clarke – President, British Association for Sexual Health and HIVN
These are new BASHH/EAGA guidelines concerning 4th GEN testing.
Probably influenced by the CDC guidelines; they are more specific in that give a clear time when to the take the test and when you can call the test completely specific.
You can only hope that websites now update their data to bring them up to date with this new knowledge.
Probably influenced by the CDC guidelines; they are more specific in that give a clear time when to the take the test and when you can call the test completely specific.
You can only hope that websites now update their data to bring them up to date with this new knowledge.
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