Genesee County Health Department

Better Life Through Better Health

The first tests for HIV, the AIDS virus, were used in 1985 to screen donated blood. Today the tests are also used to test people at risk of HIV infection. These tests look for the HIV antibody and not the virus. Other tests can detect the virus, but are used for medical evaluation of persons already known to be HIV positive.

Local health departments, private doctor offices and clinics, hospitals and other community sites offer testing.

Seek testing at a place that provides counseling about HIV and AIDS. Counselors can answer questions about risky behavior and how to protect yourself from infection. They also can help explain the meaning of the test results. Because HIV antibodies can take up to six months to be detected after infection, a negative test for HIV may not mean infection is not present if infection occurred recently. Some testing is performed without learning the patient’s name. The cost of testing varies and may be free at some sites. "Home test kits" can also be bought at some drug stores. A person collects samples of their own blood at home from a finger prick and mails it to a laboratory for testing. Results are given over the phone. However, a positive test should be confirmed at a health facility. Kits range in price from about $40 to $50.

HIV is spread through sex or sharing needles with an HIV-infected person and less often by transfusion with blood or blood products. Babies born to infected women may also be infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth. If you think you are at risk for HIV, contact the Genesee County Health Department for more information at (810) 257-3440.