title: Evaluation of a combined HIV-1/2 and HTLV-I/II assay for screening blood donors.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Yorkshire Blood Transfusion Service, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McAlpine
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ramskill
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eglin
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Mortimer
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; D015483:HIV Antibodies