title: Evaluation of two rapid hepatitis B surface antigen detection tests for screening in a blood bank.
abstract: The sensitivity and specificity of two rapid, low cost latex agglutination HBsAg detection tests were compared to a EIA HBsAg detection test using serum samples from 371 pregnant women in Kajiado, a rural Kenyan district. The sensitivity of the latex agglutination tests when compared to the EIA was 70.6% and 61.8%, while specificity was 92.0% and 85.2% respectively for the same tests. In view of their low sensitivity these rapid tests are not suitable for screening blood in district hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Kajiado District Hospital, Kenya.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Verstraeten
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keya
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000592:standards; D007630:Kenya; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000592:standards*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012423:Rural Health; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens