HIV serological screening in a population of pregnant women in the Republic of Congo: suitability of different assays.
Different strategies can be applied for the screening of HIV infection, depending on the local seroprevalence. Within a WHO type III strategy, we compared the results of two different second-line methods for HIV screening of a population of pregnant women in the Republic of Congo. Sera from 3614 consecutive pregnant women were tested for HIV with Genescreen Plus Ag/Ab EIA assay; positive specimens were retested with two different second-line methods. (Determine HIV-1/2 rapid test and Vironostika HIV Ag/Ab specific EIA assay). Discordant samples were tested with HIV-1/2 Western Blot and, if necessary, HIV RNA molecular assay. Of the 3614 sera, 221 were positive with Genscreen. Among them, 21 and 10 tested negative with Vironostika and Determine, respectively. A 100% correspondence with 3rd line confirmation test results was found in Genscreen positive/Vironostika negative samples, whereas a 5.5% overestimation of HIV seroprevalence was observed when Determine, instead of Vironostika, was used as second-line test. The choice of appropriate assays in adequate sequence, within the correct WHO strategy, is pivotal to minimize the risk of overtreatment of HIV infection.
Bruzzone
Bianca
B
Hygiene Unit, S. Martino Hospital, Genoa, Italy.
Bisio
Francesca
F
Ventura
Agostina
A
Nigro
Nicola
N
Miguel
Landry M
LM
Mayinda Mboungou
Franck A
FA
Nzagou
Abdon C
AC
Mayembo
Patrice
P
Uberti
Filippo
F
De Maria
Andrea
A
Icardi
Giancarlo
G
Viscoli
Claudio
C
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D003223:Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014944:World Health Organization