You are hereAnother myth debunked: HIV tests are unreliable and frequently produce false positives

Another myth debunked: HIV tests are unreliable and frequently produce false positives


01 August 2009

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Fact: HIV tests for antibodies or the virus itself are highly reliable (both in terms of sensitivity and specificity).

There are two important measures when considering the accuracy of an HIV test or any screening or diagnostic test: sensitivity and specificity.

HIV Rapid TestTwo different HIV rapid tests both showing a positive result

Sensitivity is a measure of how likely it is that the test will return positive results if the person being tested has HIV. A highly sensitive test is calibrated to capture every positive sample, but will probably produce some false positives because it is so sensitive that may react to other substances as well.

Specificity is a measure of how likely it is that the test will return negative results if the person being tested does not have HIV. A highly specific test will only react to the substance being tested for and exclude all true negatives, but it will also produce false negatives.

Read the full debunking on the myths page.

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House of Numbers

An AIDS denialist film "House of Numbers" is doing the rounds at film festivals and is being promoted to college campuses and similar venues. AT has published several items about the misinformation contained in the film. For comprehensive information on the lies and distortions in the film, visit Inside House of Numbers.

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