Re: False Positive HIV test after h1n1 vaccine

Thank you for your post. I just took a routine HIV test since I'm in my early stages of pregnancy. Today I received a call that my HIV test came back positive. This news to me is flooding all sorts of worry in my head. I did receive an H1N1 shot about 4-6 weeks ago. I am wondering if this produced a false positive since I have had a negative HIV test result about 2 yrs ago and have NO way of being positive now. They are sending it in to do further testing on it, but I will have to wait another few days. The wait is killing me! I called the clinic where I received the H1N1 shot and they claim there is no possible way this shot could give a false positive on HIV test. I have seen some literature about the relationship between H1N1 vaccine and false positive HIV online, but mostly by other countries and not the USA.

May I ask what country you received the vaccine? And what website are you referring to that lists this as a side effect? I'm upset that the clinic that administers the H1N1 vaccines aren't informing the public of this potential side effect. This is my first pregnancy and the last thing I need to worry about right now is being HIV+ Thanks so much!

UPDATE: The confirmatory Western Blot HIV test came back Negative. So it is confirmed that the initial ELISA screening HIV test gave a false positive. No matter what doctors/nurses tell you, you CAN get a false positive on HIV tests, especially on ELISA screening tests that only test for any antibody reactivity, not necessarily specific only to HIV. However with that said it always helps getting that Negative result on the Western Blot test to put your mind at ease. Tweet