STEPS IN UNDERTAKING PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

1.) SCREENING TESTS

- These are tests that check if you've been infected with HIV. The most common tests are described below.
- An antibody test (also called immunoassay) checks for antibodies to the HIV virus. Your health care
provider may order the test for you to have done at a lab. Or, you may have it done at a testing center or use a home
kit. These tests can detect antibodies starting a few weeks after you're infected with the virus. Antibody tests can be
done using:

- Blood -- This test is done by drawing blood from a vein, or by a finger prick. A blood test is the
most accurate because blood has a higher level of antibodies than other body fluids.
- Oral fluid -- This test checks for antibodies in the cells of the mouth. It is done by swabbing the
gums and inside cheeks. This test is less accurate than the blood test.
- Urine -- This test checks for antibodies in the urine. This test is also less accurate than the blood
test.

- An antigen test checks your blood for an HIV antigen, called p24. When you're first infected with HIV, and
before your body has a chance to make antibodies to the virus, your blood has a high level of p24. The p24
antigen test is accurate 11 days to 1 month after getting infected. This test is usually not used by itself to
screen for HIV infection.

- An antibody-antigen blood test checks for levels of both HIV antibodies and the p24 antigen. This test can
detect the virus as early as 3 weeks after getting infected.

- FOLLOW-UP TESTS

- A follow-up test is also called a confirmatory test. It is usually done when the screening test is
positive. Several kinds of tests may be used to:
 Detect the virus itself
 Detect antibodies more accurately than screening tests
 Tell the difference between the 2 types of virus, HIV-1 and HIV-2

2.) IDENTIFYING AND NOTIFYING CASES

- A person living with HIV/AIDS can look well. The person can continue to contribute to society and work
and lead a normal life.

- It is not possible to know if someone has HIV/AIDS by looking at him or her.

- In fact, HIV often presents no physical symptoms. A person who is infected with HIV may thus not know
that he or she has been infected.

- At the point of HIV infection, a person may present with symptoms within a few weeks of infection. These
symptoms are similar to other common illnesses. Some of the symptoms include:
- [ ] Fever
- [ ] Fatigue
- [ ] Rash
- [ ] Headache
- [ ] Swollen lymph nodes
- [ ] Sore throat
- [ ] Thereafter, symptoms might not show for many years.
- [ ] The only way to tell if a person has HIV is through the HIV Antibody Test, which detects the presence
of antibodies produced by the body in response to the HIV virus. It can take up to three months for antibodies to be
developed. If a person is tested within this window period of 3 months, he or she should go for another test after the
window period to confirm. Meanwhile, he or she should refrain from any sexual

3. IN COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA

- Data Collection Tools

- Rural HIV/AIDS programs may need to collect different types of data. These could include:
- [ ] Health outcomes data about HIV diagnoses, prevalence, incidence, viral load and transmission
rate; medication adherence; and disease progression, which could be obtained from clinics, emergency
rooms, and corrections facilities
- [ ] Social services data to understand how people living with HIV/AIDS are accessing and utilizing
support services
- [ ] Clinical data to measure whether patients are remaining in care and attending scheduled
appointments, plus linkages to other services
- [ ] Law enforcement data, which may include information about high-risk behaviors like injection
drug use or transactional sex
- [ ] Program data about HIV/AIDS prevention activities