Q: My 37 years old husband suffered from tuberculosis four years back and after a few weeks of medication the doctor asked for a HIV test. The test report was positive. So, he started taking medicine for HIV and took it regularly. After a month we tested his CD4 count, which was same (low). But suddenly he stopped taking the tablets for HIV (for 2-3 months) and once again he got done CD4 count, but this time the count was high. Now for the last 4 years he has not been taking any medication and he is in good health. I am worried for him. He is not ready to accept that he has HIV because of the variation in CD4 count. Please advise.

A:What tests were done initially to diagnose HIV? Was only one test done or were there more than one HIV tests carried out? While I do not have enough information for your husband's case, I must inform you that if only one test was done, there is always a chance of what is called a "false positive" report. That is why single tests should not be used to make a diagnosis and initial reports should always be confirmed by a second test. Also what exactly was the CD4 cell count? You just say it is "low".

You must keep in mind that HIV infection generally takes a long time to manifest as disease, on an average this period between infections and AIDS is almost ten years.