In a survey on 82,383 blood donor specimens from Hessen, West Germany, the observed percentage of
repeatedly positive HTLV-III/LAV antibody ELISA results was 0.2%, but only 0.018% were confirmed by Western
blot, immunofluorescence assay or radioimmunoprecipitation assay. These data are consistent with larger epidemiological
data compiled from other German blood banks and suggest a high degree of nonspecific false-positive
results; one of the causes for false-positives are HLA-DR4 antibodies, which react in the HTLV-III/LAV test.
Epidemiological data on 127 dialysis patients and 1,153 prison inmates are presented.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.