The ELISA is used to to detect anti-HIV antibodies in the blood, so it is a test used to know whether or not the person is infected with HIV.
O ELISA test looks for the antibodies produced by the immune system to fight HIV infection.
However, since it can take weeks or even months for these antibodies to be present in large amounts in the blood, the ELISA may give false negative or undetermined if it's done soon first days or weeks after infection.
Therefore, the ELISA is not considered secure to detect a infection. For acute infections there are other specific tests capable of tracking the virus.
ELISA usually gives positive after 1 to 3 months occurred contamination. Even so, for confirm HIV infection, further examination is required, which may be the Western Blot, O Indirect Immunofluorescence Test for HIV-1 or the Immunoblot.
This additional test is necessary because the ELISA can give a result false positive if the person has certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases and some types of cancer.
The HIV test can be done free of charge in the Health Units of the Unified Health System (SUS), Hospitals and Centers of Testing and Counseling (CTA).
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