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Screening tests require a high degree of confidence that HIV is not present, so a combination of antibody (serology), antigen and nucleic acid based tests are used by blood banks in Western countries. The average window period with antibody tests is 22 days. Antigen testing cuts the window period to approximately 16 days and NAT further reduces this period to 12 days. FDA 2001 Public demand in the United States for HIV blood screening arose during the campaign to re elect President subsequently named Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV . The first screening test, an ELISA antibody test, had a high sensitivity but a low specificity. The low specificity of the test is due to cross-reacting antibodies, which attach to HIV particles "by accident", even though the body has never encountered HIV. Antibody tests cannot detect recent HIV infections, because there is a ''window period'' of several weeks between infection and the production of antibodies. Antigen and nucleic acid based tests have been introduced in some countries to reduce this window period. TIMELINE
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