title: Sensitivities of radioimmunoprecipitation assay and PCR for detection of human T-lymphotropic type II infection.
abstract: Five hundred forty-eight uncoagulated blood specimens from intravenous drug users infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) were used to evaluate the sensitivities of the radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) and PCR for detecting HTLV-II-infected people. The sensitivities of both RIPA and PCR were found to be dependent on the HTLV-II antibody titer, as determined by the immunofluorescence assay. Neither of these recommended confirmatory methods was as sensitive for detecting weakly reactive HTLV-II specimens as the immunofluorescence assay, Western blotting (immunoblotting), or a modified licensed enzyme immunoassay. Use of RIPA and PCR to determine the reliabilities of other tests may sometimes give erroneous results.
authors: Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory, State of California Department of Health Services, Berkeley 94704.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Gallo
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Penning
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Diggs
authors: C V
authors: CV
authors: Hanson
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015531:Radioimmunoprecipitation Assay; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies