title: Evaluation of the reliability of 6 current anti-HIV-1/HIV-2 enzyme immunoassays.
abstract: The sensitivity for early detection of HIV antibodies and specificity of 6 anti-HIV-1/HIV-2 screening enzyme immunoassays (ELISAs) currently on the market were investigated by testing a panel of 249 well-characterized serum samples. The panel included sera from AIDS patients or children with congenital HIV infection, high-risk individuals and patients with conditions unrelated to AIDS. 'Tricky' sera (repeatedly positive results by ELISA and negative or indeterminate results by Western blot; n = 69) were also used in this evaluation along with 6 seroconversion panels. One second-generation assay (Biotest) and two third-generation assays (Abbott and Murex) showed the highest sensitivity for early detection of HIV-1 antibodies in seroconversion panels. A high specificity was achieved with the Cambridge Biotech (100%) and Ortho ELISA (99.4%). A relatively high rate of false-positive results was obtained with the Biotest (n = 10) and the Pasteur assays (n = 8) by testing 'tricky' sera and samples from high-risk individuals and from patients with other acute viral infections. In conclusion, it remains difficult to combine high specificity with an accurate detection of early seroconversion for anti-HIV-1/HIV-2 screening enzyme immunoassays.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Medizinische Virologie, Universitätskliniken, Frankfurt/M., Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moshtaghi-Boronjeni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Preiser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breiner
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Doerr
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic