Dear Patient The p24 test is generally only positive from about two to three weeks after infection with HIV. The p24 protein cannot be detected until about a week after infection with HIV because it generally takes that long for the virus to become established and multiply to sufficient numbers that they can be detected. The p24 proteins then become undetectable again after sufficient antibodies to HIV have been produced because they bind to the p24 protein and eliminate it from the blood. Once antibodies are produced, the p24 test will be negative even in people who are infected with HIV. At that point, the standard HIV antibody test will be positive. Later in the course of HIV, p24 protein again becomes detectable.

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