Why is PCR not used for HIV?

This test finds either the RNA of the HIV virus or the HIV DNA in white blood cells infected with the virus. PCR testing isn’t done as often as antibody testing, because it requires technical skill and expensive equipment. This test may be done in the days or weeks after exposure to the virus.

Can HIV PCR test be wrong?

While many HIV tests are extremely accurate, they do not achieve 100\% accuracy. A false negative is a test result that says a person does not have HIV when, in fact, they do. False negative results most often occur when people test in the first few weeks after infection, during the ‘window period’ of a test.

Why did PCR not work?

DNA polymerase enzyme not working The DNA polymerase enzyme is responsible for the extension of the bound primers along the template DNA strands. If this enzyme is no longer as efficient, maybe due to freeze-thawing, then the extension step during the PCR reaction will be incomplete, giving you no PCR product.

Can a PCR test be negative?

A negative test result means you probably didn’t have an infection with SARS-CoV-2 at the time your specimen was collected. However, it’s possible to have COVID-19 but not have the virus detected by the test.

Is PCR prone to error?

Error-prone PCR. Error prone PCR is a method by which random mutants maybe inserted into any piece of DNA. In these conditions, the polymerase makes mistakes in the base paring during DNA synthesis that results in the introduction of errors in the newly synthesized complementary DNA strand.

What are the disadvantages of PCR?

Table 1

Advantages of PCR	Disadvantages of PCR
Shown to be more cost-effective with selective use than culture and staining	Becomes less cost-effective when performed with a multi-organism PCR approach
Increased ability to detect less common organisms such as viruses	Supply costs, machinery fees, training expenses