Acute HIV often goes undetected. In fact, between 5,000 to 75,000 patients are misdiagnosed annually^[1]. This doesn’t have to be the case. Early detection provides vital information that can lead to treatment and prevention of additional infections.

Getting results sooner vs. later can make a huge difference in living a healthy lifestyle, which is why we are dedicated to developing the diagnostic tools to inform critical patient decisions. The tools ensure reliable broad HIV subtype detection, identify infected patients and help doctors plan a treatment regiment for individuals who otherwise might unknowingly spread the disease due to lack of awareness of infection. These tests can simultaneously detect both HIV antigens and antibodies—up to 20 days earlier than traditional antibody-only tests. About 1 in 5 infected people are unaware of their infection and continue to spread the disease. Now knowing sooner can prevent future cases.

HIV’s rapidly evolving nature makes detection a constant challenge for the lab. We are working to meet this challenge through a commitment to science that stays a step ahead.

QUICK FACTS^[1,2,3]

• Acute HIV, a highly infectious stage of the disease, can last greater than 10 weeks.
• Between 5,000 to 75,000 patients are misdiagnosed annually.
• 1 in 5 people with HIV do not know they are infected.
• Someone is infected with HIV in the US every 9.5 minutes.
• Even if physicians do test, traditional HIV diagnostic tests may not detect acute HIV.
• Early detection leads to very manageable treatment options.

1 Schacker et al. Clinical Epidemiologic Features of Primary HIV Infection. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:257-264
2 HIV in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm. Accessed on 1/26/12. 
3 HIV in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm. Accessed on 1/26/12.