The routine use of conventional ELISA was abandoned because it is technically demanding, and requires sophisticated, regularly maintained equipment and constant supply of electricity.
#Western blot vs elisa hiv serial#
Both parallel and serial rapid test algorithm has been used for screening and diagnosis of HIV infection in Nigeria. Screening for HIV infections were previously done using conventional ELISA and confirmed with western blot testing until the evolution rapid HIV testing kits. Among pregnant women, screening has proven to be more effective than risk-based approach for detecting unsuspecting maternal HIV infection. HIV counseling and testing is the gateway for HIV prevention, care, treatment and support of interventions. HIV prevention and treatment hinges on the availability of accurate and feasible diagnostic tests. Diagnosis is also more challenging because of presence of HIV-2 in the region. More than 90 % of paediatrics HIV infections are as a result of mother to child transmission. The annual HIV exposed births in Nigeria in 2009 was 56,681. It has been estimated that Nigeria has one of the highest number of people living with HIV infection. Nigeria’s HIV infection is peculiar because of the country’s population. Overall, it has been estimated that 60 million people have been infected with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic and 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes. This has a detrimental implication for mother to child transmission of HIV infection. More worrisome is the fact that HIV in this region is wearing a woman’s face with 61 % of HIV infections in this region occurring in women. It has been estimated that sub-Sahara Africa contributes 22.4 million of the 32.4 million cases of HIV infection worldwide. There is need for regular review of HIV test kits and policy. The 100 % specificity and positive predictive value makes it a good diagnostic test strategy. The sensitivity of the serial rapid test algorithm was high but still lower than the WHO recommended 99 % and above. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value of serial rapid HIV testing was 95, 100, 99.3 and 100 % respectively. The prevalence of HIV infection was 12 %. The HIV prevalence was highest in the 25–29 years category. The mean age of the participants was 29 ± 4.3 years. ResultĪ total of 166 pregnant women participated in this study. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Participants also completed a questionnaire. All positive and discordant results were confirmed with western blot HIV test. Serial rapid testing algorithm was compared with conventional ELISA testing after obtaining informed consents from the pregnant women.
This was a comparative descriptive study conducted over a 4-month period. This study determined the sensitivity, specificity negative and positive predictive value of serial rapid testing of HIV among pregnant women in Nnewi, south east Nigeria. Accurate HIV testing in pregnancy is critical to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV infection and linkages to other preventive strategies.
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