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what are the methods to detect AIDS?
The most common, cost-effective, and accurate method of diagnosing HIV infection is via a blood test that looks for antibodies to HIV. Antibodies are the body's reaction to HIV and other foreign substances. Other methods that are used are rapid HIV antibody tests that use blood, saliva, or urine.
When someone is tested for HIV, a test called an Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay, or ELISA, is performed using a sample of blood obtained from a patient’s vein. If this test is positive a second test called a Western Blot is done, on the same sample of blood, to confirm the positive test. A Western Blot is a blood test to detect antibodies to several specific components of a virus such as HIV.


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