Q: I had sex with a girl using a condom which burst. I quickly replaced the burst condom and after two weeks I had an STI infection. I went for an Elisa HIV test after seven weeks and the results were negative. My partner tested HIV positive. What should I do?

A:First get the STI treated and use a condom if you have penetrative sex with anyone until such time as you know your HIV status. In most cases it needs time for the body to develop sufficient antibodies to give a positive test result. This period is commonly about 12 weeks but may, in some cases, be as much as twice that. Get a test done for HIV at 12 weeks after exposure. If positive after confirmation with a second test then you will probably have got infected. If the tests are not positive after 12 weeks from exposure, try again after 24 weeks. If you are still negative then you can assume that you have been lucky and are not infected. I hope your partner had a second test before declaring a positive result. Please never depend on a single test to diagnose HIV infection. Even single negative results can be depended upon but not single positive reports.