title: False-positive human immunodeficiency virus screening test related to rabies vaccination.
abstract: We report a false-positive result on an enzyme immunoassay screening test for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus in a 32-year-old nonpregnant woman who belonged to none of the usual risk groups. Because of the patient's employment in an animal care facility, she had received a series of three vaccinations for rabies, and 16 days after the last vaccination, she had donated a unit of blood. It was during routine screening on a sample drawn at the time of donation that the repeatedly reactive enzyme immunoassay screening test occurred. The results of a Western blot were indeterminant. A polymerase chain reaction assay was negative for proviral DNA.
authors.affiliation: Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research, Department of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Pearlman
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ballas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011818:Rabies / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies