Evaluation of a combined HIV-1/2 and HTLV-I/II assay for screening blood donors.
A combined immunoassay for the simultaneous detection of antibodies to HIV-1/2 and HTLV-I/II (Bioelisa, Launch Diagnostics) has been evaluated to determine its suitability for routine use in blood screening. 84,222 donations were tested from 76,452 donors. One HIV- and 1 HTLV-1-positive donor were identified. The specificity was 99.7%, and the sensitivity for anti-HIV-1, anti-HIV-2, and anti-HTLV-1 on 173 positive sera was 100%; 2 of 25 anti-HTLV-II-positive sera were non-reactive. Although the specificity of the assay is not as high as that of HIV-1/2 kits currently in UK transfusion use, the information gained about donor HTLV antibody status makes the test an attractive alternative to them.
Flanagan
P
P
Yorkshire Blood Transfusion Service, Leeds, UK.
McAlpine
L
L
Ramskill
S J
SJ
Smith
A G
AG
Eglin
R
R
Parry
J V
JV
Mortimer
P P
PP
D001782:Blood Donors; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology*; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; D015483:HIV Antibodies