Title: Need to confirm HTLV-1 screening assays [letter].

POPLINE Document Number: 270901

Author(s):

Constantine NT
Fox E

Source citation:

Lancet, 1989 Jan 14;1(8629):108-9.

Abstract:

In a November 1988 report, Babona and Nurse cited a 26.5% seropositivity rate when testing sera from Papua New Guinea blood donors for antibodies to HTLV-1. Another lab used the same gelatin agglutination screening assay and compared the results using a more specific western blot on sera from Djibouti. Results showed that of the sera positive by agglutination, only 20% were positive by Western Blot. If the same results are applied to the New Guinea sera, it would mean that only 5.3% of the donors are truly HTLV-1 positive. This study shows that caution must be used when interpreting HTLV-1 screening results.

Keywords:

AIDS
Viral Diseases
HIV Infections
Laboratory Procedures
Papua New Guinea
Djibouti
Oceania
Incidence
Laboratory Examinations and Diagnoses
Examinations and Diagnoses
Diseases
Developing Countries
Africa, Eastern
Africa South of the Sahara
Africa
Measurement
Research Methodology