Comparison of indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot for detection of anti-human immunodeficiency virus antibodies

Abstract

There was 100% agreement between the results of indirect immunofluorescence (IF) and Western blot testing when these methods were used to detect antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus in sera from 25 patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 20 patients with AIDS-related complex, 186 subjects at high risk for AIDS, and 40 healthy heterosexuals. However, there was only an 88.7% correlation between IF and Western blot results for 728 sera from blood and plasma donor centers that were selected on the basis of screening enzyme immunoassay reactivity. IF tests yielded nine false-negatives and were equivocal, yielding a nonspecific pattern of reactivity for both infected and uninfected cells for 73 of these specimens. The IF and Western blot methods were equal in performance for the detection of anti-human immunodeficiency virus antibodies in the high-risk and unselected low-risk groups, proving to be a practical approach for testing specimens from these subjects. However, the Western blot was the most acceptable method for the validation of specimens from groups at low risk for AIDS that were selected based on enzyme immunoassay reactivity.

Performance and reliability of five commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits in screening for anti-human immunodeficiency virus antibody in high-risk subjects

“…Anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), first introduced in 1985 (12), are inexpensive and easy to use for mass screening compared with the radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) (1), Western blotting (immunoblotting), and immunofluorescence (IFA) (2). However anti-HIV ELISAs must be sensitive enough to detect all anti-HIV-positive individuals and as specific as possible to reduce the cost generated by confirmatory tests.…”

Laboratory testing for the diagnosis of HIV infection : updated recommendations

“…• Established HIV infection is the stage characterized by a fully developed IgG antibody response sufficient to meet the interpretive criteria for a positive Western blot or IFA. 1,61,65…”

Isolation of a highly cytopathic lentivirus from a nondomestic cat

“…During quarantine, the cat tested positive for FIV with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (PetChek FIV Antibody Test Kit; IDEXX Corp.) (24). On immunoblot analysis (4,8,35), the Pallas' cat's serum reacted with the major core protein, p24, of the prototype domestic cat isolate, FIV-Fca (Petaluma) (29).…”