Can you have aids negative or positive? - Answers

Not exactly. "HIV positive" means that someone's test for HIV antibodies came back positive, i.e. that the antibodies are present and that the person has at least been exposed to, and is almost certainly infected with, the virus. AIDS, however, is a syndrome, or condition. There isn't a specific test for it, so the terms "positive" and "negative" have no real meaning. AIDS means that not only is the person infected, but the infection has progressed to the point that they are showing symptoms. You can be "HIV positive" (the test showed antibodies) or "HIV negative" (the test did not show antibodies), but not "AIDS positive" or "AIDS negative". Everyone with AIDS is (or should be, since HIV is the virus that causes AIDS) "HIV positive", but it's possible to be "HIV positive" for a considerable length of time before eventually developing AIDS.