how long can it take before hiv symptoms are detected
How soon can I take an HIV test? This question usually refers to how soon after exposure can someone test for HIV. This usually requires waiting 3 to 4 weeks before taking an antibody-based test (see Figure 6). UK guidelines state that 4th generation HIV tests (antigen/antibody) will detect 95% of infections four weeks after exposure. A negative test after four weeks then needs to be confirmed with a second test three months after the risk. This is in case you take longer than four weeks to generate an antibody response.