Learn More about Seroconversion


by Julia Jones - Date: 2006-12-01 - Word Count: 409 Share This!

What do you understand by Seroconversion?

Seroconversion resembles any acute viral infection and is described as "flu like illness". There are people who get infected without knowing about it. While there are others who experience short 'seroconversion' illness after becoming infected.

When a person is infected with HIV, he has an illness during the first few weeks or months. The symptoms of this illness are not specific that includes fever, rash, muscle aches, headaches, nausea and enlarged glands. It is a way the body responds to the infection. There are some doctors who say that if the treatment is started at this stage could be beneficial but there is no clear evidence to it.

Who is a Seroconverter?

During this sero conversion period the person who has been infected does not test positive for it. It means that a person who was earlier HIV negative has turned to HIV positive. HIV enters the body and begins to multiply during the sero conversion period. It is considered as a critical time during HIV infection.

If a person has one or more HIV tests with negative results and then as a result of HIV infection receives a HIV positive result, he is a seroconvert. The early negative serostatus converts to positive sero status.

According to research in HIV/AIDS, seroconversion refers to development of antibodies (antibodies are proteins made by the body's natural defense system or the immune system to attack and destroy foreign substances such bacteria and viruses.) as a result of HIV infection. These antibodies are detectable. This period of seroconversion is also described as the antibody development period.

The first stage of infection is acute HIV infection; it is the time immediately after a person is infected and before an antibody response to the infection develops. The second stage of infection is the seroconversion. In the second stage a person develops HIV-specific antibodies.

The duration of the seroconversion period depends on the type of infection. The seroconversion is usually between one to three months. It can also be as short as two weeks or as long as six months. It is possible that an infected person can transmit the disease even if there are no signs of the infection during the period of seroconversion.

Since seroconversion is the incubation time in which a person has been infected with an illness, like HIV, but does not yet test positive, that person can prevent from preventing new HIV infections by practicing safe sex.

Find more information visit: Learn More about Seroconversion


Related Tags: infection, safe sex, blood testing

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