title: Human immunodeficiency virus: GACPAT and GACELISA as diagnostic tests for antibodies in urine.
abstract: Testing for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in urine may be of use in epidemiological studies. We collected 336 paired urine and serum samples from subjects in Karonga District, northern Malawi: 86 (25.6%) of the serum samples were HIV positive. Serum results were compared with those from immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibody-capture particle adherence tests (GACPAT) and IgG antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GACELISA) on the corresponding urine samples performed independently in 2 laboratories. The minimum observed relative sensitivity and specificity of GACPAT were 96.5% and 98.8% respectively; the specificity could be raised by using a protocol involving re-testing of reactive samples to determine end-point titre. For GACELISA, the observed relative sensitivity and specificity were 98.8% and 99.2% respectively. Such assays may be useful either as a primary screen in populations where urine samples are considerably easier to obtain than serum samples, or as an alternative test for individuals unwilling to provide a serum sample.
authors.affiliation: Communicable Disease Epidemiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sterne
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ponnighaus
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nyasulu
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Mkandwire
mesh_terms: D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies