World 'losing fight against Aids', page 3

Originally posted by Funkat
What you've seen in the microscope was a virus that came directly from a human? or was it from a culture?

Both, and there are several different methods to visibly see any virus or bacteria from samples. Scanning electron micrographs are used to visibly locate HIV around Lymphocytes located in human tissue, and generally produce images such as these:

HIV: Electron Micrograph
Another image

These images can be obtained from cultured HIV infected cells or from samples of patients blood in a sterilized laboratory. In fact, there are some very detailed photographs taken from Transmission Electron Microscopes and Scanning Electron Micrographs that show HIV budding from infected cells. I do not currently have these images avaliable, but I'm sure you can find various ones on the internet with a quick search. All samples of HIV I have seen look very similar to these, however, having a medical background may help you identify the various structures present in the photographs.

If you've seen the real virus coming straight from a human, how come the HIV tests work by detecting anti-bodies to HIV and not HIV itself?

There are several different testing methods avaliable. The most common are Rapid tests like Orasure, OraQuick, and UniGold Recombigen which detect specific antibodies built up in resistance to HIV and other infections. There has been some consideration taken with these tests and they are only used as a means to screen potential infections. In other words, people with possible secondary immunological infections or diseases such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Hepatitis C, and others can skew the results and the test will show a positive result even if the person is HIV negative.

If a person initially tests positive for HIV antibodies they are then adminsitered a Westen Blot test. This test begins as HIV infected Lymphocytes are actually opened up, the proteins are then seperated and transferred to another membrane. From there ELISA testing can begin to detect the HIV antibodies. From clinical results produced in laboratories around the world we know of a specific protein called P24 which is only found in HIV, and an Antigen test can be administered to produce antibodies that only bind to this specific protein. In other words, Antibodies and Antigens are like the ignition system on a car for lack of better comparison...only one key will start a particular car by matching up the grooves on the key's surface...and in turn only specific antibodies will attach to certain antigens. This is how we know antibodies are specifically built up to certain diseases, and why there is such a differentiation between them.

There is also another method currently avaliable using Nucleic Acid that is similar to PCR testing. I'm sure there is a website somewhere that will go over it (to save time and space in this post).

Why the disclaimers on every HIV test kit say these tests shouldnt be used for a definitive diagnosis? Because there isn't a Gold Standard to compare it to.

Correct. Rapid HIV testing kits are not definitive results, and this is why they are always followed up by more accurate testing methods briefly described above. The "Golden Standard" for HIV testing follows a method used in almost every Biochemistry lab in the world. It's called a Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR for short) that can isolate viral RNA and cellular DNA, thus producing results that are so accurate it has become a staple in Molecular Biology and Virology. Here is a more in depth description of the method of PCR testing:

PCR: How it tests for HIV

Here is an article from a study conducted with Polymerase Chain Reaction on Viral RNA. You probably won't be able to read the whole thing, but it includes their objective and conclusions: HIV: PCR test

HIV hasn't been properly isolated. If it has, please show me the paper, I'd love to see it.

Vying for that cash prize? Viral cultures and the isolation of HIV go hand in hand (those dissenting groups often twist words to make the two sound different), and this is typically how any virus or bacterial agent is isolated. That is, in controlled and sterilized conditions by multiple researchers and technicians. The hundreds of photographs avaliable online from HIV cultures and blood samples show isolation has become a reality. Here is one article directly from the National Institute of Health dealing with this subject, and the established criteria for doing so:

NIH: Isolation of HIV