Members of the local emergency medical service unit have just transported an accident victim to the emergency department. They tell the ED nurse that the victim has AIDS, and they have blood on their hands and clothing

Question

The nurse advises them to wash their hands and to change any clothing that is wet with blood. The nurse talks to them about getting a baseline HIV test and about future testing. They ask the nurse how long it will take before they will know if they are infected. The nurse's response should be a. "You will need to be tested in 6 weeks and regularly for the next 10 years, because that is the average length of time it takes to detect the virus by testing."
b. "You will need to be tested in 3 months and again in 6 months, because 95% of people seroconvert to antibody-positive in 3 months and 99% in 6 months."
c. "Transmission by occupational exposure is rare. There is no need for you to be concerned."
d. "You will need to be tested in 3 weeks, because most people seroconvert in that length of time."

Answer 1

B
Seroconversion is the development of antibodies from HIV, which takes place approximately 5 days to 3 months after exposure, generally within 1 to 3 weeks.