Abstract
The performance of the reusing of test membranes which have been used previously for negative tests for the detection of antibody to HIV (HIVCHEK 1 +2 of Ortho Diagnostic Systems, Paris, France) was evaluated under field conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of the reusing strategy compared with a HIV determination obtained by using new HIVCHECK 1+2 tests were 89.1% and 100%, respectively. The positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value was 91.5%. The authors conclude that the reduction in sensitivity of the reusing strategy in comparison with the use of new tests makes this strategy ethically unacceptable for the detection of HIV infection in blood donors. On the other hand, the reusing strategy could be very useful for diagnostic purpose and for epidemiological HIV surveillance in resource-poor countries.
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