Tests for AIDS and other STDs have been on the market for years. There is even a home-test for HIV that can be turned into a reference lab for testing and results. Much equipment and training is needed in order to test for AIDS and other STDs, and such testing should be done by a professional in a state, hospital or other laboratory. The tests themselves are rather straightforward and use technology such ELISA, which has been around for decades.
Instructions
Testing for AIDS
1. Collect blood sample from the patient. Spin down in centrifuge to separate the serum from the rest of the blood. If using a urine or oral sample, centrifugation may not be needed.
2. Dilute sample with pure water. Place the sample in a 96-well plate using a pipet. Add your chosen antibody using a pipet and let it incubate for an hour or however long specified by the ELISA kit's manufacturer. Dump the solution out into a sink and pat the plate dry.
3. Add the antigen solution, let it incubate for an hour, or however long the maker suggests, and dump the material in the wells and pat the plate dry. Make the color developer solution, which comes with the kit. Add the solution using a pipet to see what cells changes color. Refer to the kit to determine positive and negative results.
4. Perform a western blot to check that the positive results are truly positive.
Performing a Test for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
5. Know that gonorrhea and chlamydia are common, curable sexually transmitted diseases that can be tested at the same time using the GenProbe Aptima II machine. There is a newer model of this machine called Tigris, which is much more automated. The general steps in the testing process are the same.
6. Set swabs to be tested, at least 200, in tubes trays that come with the system. Place these on the left side of the stage with 200 empty plastic test tubes on the right. Scan in patient information into the computer system so that the right tube is matched with the right patient.
7. Activate the testing phase in the machine so that swab fluid is exposed to primer and other reagents. Agitate the clear plastic tubes using a shaker, incubate for an hour and read using an illuminometer. Re-test positives to make sure they are not false positives.
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