HIV Antibody Testing: Procedures, Interpretation, and Reliability of Results

• NCJ Number: 114206
• Author(s): T M Hammett
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 8 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: AIDS Bulletin

Annotation

This bulletin discusses the history of HIV antibody testing and identifies technical issues related to testing and interpreting test results.

Abstract

No test to diagnose AIDS exists, but since 1985 it has been possible to screen blood samples for the presence of an immune deficiency caused by HIV infection. Currently available tests do not detect the presence of the HIV virus itself, but, instead, identify the presence of antibodies to the virus. The incubation period of the HIV virus within an individual is long. The average time between infection with HIV and the appearance of symptoms appears to be about eight years. Current Center for Disease Control guidelines indicate that an individual should be considered positive for antibodies to HIV when the results of three consecutive tests are positive. The basic test for HIV antibodies is an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA or EIA). The most common confirmatory test is the Western Blot, which is used to confirm twice-repeated positive ELISA tests. Costs of these tests vary, and there are serious concerns about the reliability of HIV antibody tests because they can produce incorrect results. Additionally, the lag time between infection and the appearance of detectable antibodies raises problems in identifying all those infected at one time. There are ethical, legal, and practical problems in using the results of currently available results.