4800 West Green Brook Drive â¢ Brown Deer, WI 53223 â¢ 414.371.3000 â¢ manager@browndeerwi.org â¢ Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am â 4:30pm Contact Us
In general, antibody tests that use blood can detect HIV slightly sooner after infection than tests done with oral fluid. It can take 3 to 12 weeks (21-84 days) for an HIV-positive personâs body to make enough antibodies for an antibody test to detect HIV infection. This is called the window period.
An HIV test will only detect the virus four weeks after infection. Before this four-week period, the virus is not detected by a test. However, if you think you have been exposed to the risk of HIV, you should not wait for the four-week window period to pass before seeking help.