DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR HIV INFECTION: SEROLOGY

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR HIV INFECTION: SEROLOGY

AIDS: Etiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention. Second Edition. DeVita VT Jr et al, eds. Philadelphia, Lippincott, p. 121-36, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/89650904
Sandler SG; Dodd RY; Fang CT; Georgetown Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, DC

Abstract: Current serologic tests for HIV infection are based on the observation that most persons infected by HIV develop specific antibodies within a few weeks, and nearly all persons develop antibodies within a few months. These HIV-specific antibodies persist during the course of latent infection and, to varying degrees, during subsequent progression to overt disease, that is, AIDS. Serologic tests currently used for clinical laboratory diagnosis of HIV are described, including enzyme immunoassay test kits, immunoblot (Western blot; enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer), indirect immunofluorescence analysis (IFA), and radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA). Methodology, advantages and disadvantages, performance characteristics, sensitivity, specificity, and the meaning of false-negative and false-positive test results are discussed. There are eight different enzyme immunoassay test kits licensed for use in the United States and others are widely used in Europe. The principal advantage of the immunoblot test for serologic diagnosis is the separation and identification of individual HIV antibodies occurring naturally in complex mixtures according to the mol wt of the corresponding HIV antigens. IFA is a useful test for detecting or confirming the presence of HIV antibodies, but it has not been as widely used as the immunoblot test procedure. RIPA is a research method that may have application for resolving selected, complex serologic diagnostic problems. Because RIPAs are expensive and labor intensive, and require containment facilities for handling live HIV, they are not used routinely in clinical laboratories. (104 Refs)

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*DIAGNOSIS/IMMUNOLOGY Antibody Specificity AIDS Serodiagnosis/*METHODS Blotting, Western/METHODS False Negative Reactions False Positive Reactions Fluorescent Antibody Technique Human HIV/*IMMUNOLOGY HIV Antibodies/*ANALYSIS HIV Antigens/IMMUNOLOGY Immunoenzyme Techniques Radioimmunoassay/METHODS MONOGRAPH REVIEW REVIEW, TUTORIAL

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