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Though AIDS is an incurable disease and a person who is HIV positive faces a lot of  discrimination, the common used tests for detecting the presence of  the HIV virus are not 100% accurate. This is because of  the nature of  the virus and current testing procedure.   

The factors which affect the accuracy of  AIDS tests are:

1. Window period :  After a person is infected with AIDS, the amount of  antibodies produced by the body  to fight the infection increases over a period of  time. Initially  the amount of  antibodies produced are very small and may not be detected by conventional  HIV tests like the ELISA test . The person may cause infect another person, though the infection is not detected.

Measurable amounts of  antibodies are present in an infected person after a period of time which may vary from three weeks to six months. However, a majority of patients have sufficient antibodies to test positive within 3 months. Antiretroviral therapy may also delay the formation of  antibodies.

2. The ELISA or enzyme immunoassay test is the most widely used screening test for HIV and has a high sensitivity. It can only be used to confirm that the person is not infected with the HIV virus. Even if  a  person is not infected with  the  HIV virus the ELISA test may give a positive result. This may be due to antibodies produced in the body by other ailments, vaccination, pregnancy or allergy.