Which Test Is Best?

Because hepatitis C is a common coinfection among HIVers, particularly injection-drug users and men who have sex with men, your doctor may urge you to be screened for the liver disease. If so, be sure to ask for an RNA test and not the more common antibody test, urges a study in the journal AIDS. It shows that HIV-positive people may be slower to develop antibodies to the hep C virus than other adults and thus are at a higher risk for a false-negative result with antibody tests. Because RNA tests look for the virus itself and not immune system responses to it, they're more accurate, particularly for early-stage infections.