title: Field testing and comparative evaluation of rapid, visually read screening assays for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: Five rapid, visually read assays for detection of antibody against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were evaluated on fresh serum samples from 4000 prospective blood donors at Mama Yemo Hospital, Kinshasa, Zaïre. The sensitivity of the assays, based on 214 specimens positive by western blot, ranged from 84.6% to 99.1%. The specificity, based on 3664 samples negative by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or western blot, ranged from 92.7% to 98.8%. Three readers scored each test result independently; disagreement about test interpretation occurred in 1.2-8.3% of the specimens. There was no correlation between assay performance and assay principle (agglutination or dot immunobinding) or antigen source (viral lysate or recombinant). Assays such as these can be readily implemented in a developing country transfusion centre, where blood screening by ELISA is not practicable.
authors.affiliation: Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Seattle.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spielberg
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kabeya
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ryder
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Kifuani
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Heyward
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Quinn
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D001782:Blood Donors; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D003906:Developing Countries; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011897:Random Allocation; D012107:Research Design; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies