Comparison of two commercially available anti‐HIV ELISAs: Abbott HTLV III EIA and Du Pont HTLV III‐ELISA

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Abstract
Serum specimens were tested for HIV antibodies by two commercially available ELISAs (Abbott HTLV III EIA and Du Pont HTLV III‐ELISA). The specificity and sensitivity of these assays were determined by comparison with indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. Specificity ranged from 94.3% in the Abbott assay to 97.9% in the Du Pont‐ELISA. The sensitivity was 100% in the Abbott‐ELISA and 99% in the Du Pont test. With both tests, false‐positive results occurred predominantly in sera from patients with immunological disorders (kidney transplant recipients, lymphoma, Stevens‐Johnson syndrome, etc.), whereas symptomatic AIDS‐patients, patients with ARC, and persons with a defined risk for HIV infection could be diagnosed unequivocally. Specificity and sensitivity of anti‐HIV ELISAs seemed to depend not only on definition of the cutoff value but also on other factors, such as antigen preparation and inactivation measures. Testing of ELISA‐reactive sera by confirmatory tests remains necessary.