Due to the COVID-19 public health guidelines, all clients will be asked to answer the following screening questions before entering the building

 

1. In the past 30 days, have you or someone you live with been diagnosed with COVID-19?

2. In the past 14 days have you returned from travel outside the U.S.?

3. In the past 14 days, have you been in unprotected close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19? (within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer)

4. In the past 14 days, have you returned from travel outside the Bay Area?

5. In the past 14 days, have you had any of these symptoms, which is new or not explained by pre-existing condition?

 

• Fever, chills or shivering/shakes
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Difficulty breathing
• Feeling Unusually weak or fatigued
• Unexplained muscle aches
• Loss of senses of smell or taste
• Runny or congested nose
• Diarrhea (3 or more loose stools/ 24 hours)
• Eye redness +/- discharge (pink eye, not allergy)

A counselor will come to get you and take you into a private room. There, your counselor will explain the testing process, answer any questions you may have, and obtain your consent to be tested.

 

If you agree to be tested, you will proceed to the lab, where a phlebotomist will collect a sample of your blood. This sample will be used to run your HIV test. (If you qualify for STD testing, there will be additional blood taken for Syphilis, and swabs taken for Oral/Rectal Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.)

The STD results come back in 10 business days.

 

You will then return to the room with your counselor to talk about your risk for HIV and any other related questions or concerns you may have. If you don’t have much to talk about, you may be asked to wait in our waiting room until your result is ready. After 20 minutes (the amount of time that the HIV test takes to run), your counselor will return with you to a private room to disclose the result.

 

Afterward, you will have another chance to talk to your counselor about any questions or concerns you may have.

If you receive a reactive HIV antigen/antibody result it means your test is postive it is very likely that you have been infected with HIV. To confirm the diagnosis, your counselor will ask you to provide a blood sample in order to run confirmatory laboratory tests. Your counselor will also introduce you to someone who can help link you with HIV-specific medical care, as well as other services such as partner notification, or psychosocial support.

 

If you receive a reactive HIV antigen/antibody result it means your test is postive it is very likely that you have been infected with HIV. To confirm the diagnosis, your counselor will ask you to provide a blood sample in order to run confirmatory laboratory tests. Your counselor will also introduce you to someone who can help link you with HIV-specific medical care, as well as other services such as partner notification, or psychosocial support.

The Alere Determine test detects the presence HIV antigens and antibodies. A person’s immune system produces HIV antigens and antibodies after being infected with HIV. The window period is the time between a person’s infection with HIV and the time the body produces a sufficient amount of antigens/antibodies to be detected by the test. People infected with HIV usually develop detectable antigens/antibodies between two weeks and four weeks after infection. If your risk for HIV was less than four weeks prior to your HIV antigen/antibody test, it is possible that the test would not detect the infection.

 

Alere Determine™ HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo (Determine Combo) is a rapid test capable of detecting HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies. The p24 antigen is a part of the HIV virus and can be detected before antibodies develop. If the test is reactive, the Determine Combo indicates whether the reaction is caused by antigen, antibody, or both. Please discuss the window period with your counselor if you have additional questions.

We offer limited STD testing (Syphilis, Oral and/or Rectal Chlamydia and Gonorrhea) for all male and transgender identified clients who have sex with men. Results are available after ten business days. When you test positive for an STD, we will call you and schedule you for an appointment for treatment. If AHP cannot provide STD testing services to you or if you require additional STD testing, we can refer you to another provider who can help you.

 

STD testing is limited to residents who live and or work in San Francisco, identify as men who have sex with men or transgender clients who have sex with men, regardless of HIV status. HEP C testing is available to anyone who has shared needles for injection use.

Please call 415.476.3902 to speak with our Sexual Health team to check for availability or email: [email protected].