Stability of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibodies in whole blood dried on filter paper and stored under various tropical conditions in Kinshasa, Zaire

F Behets, K Mwandagalirwa, M Pappaioanou, TA Green, RW Ryder, V Batter, JR George, WH Hannon, TC Quinn

    Research output: Contribution to journalA1: Web of Science-articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The use of whole-blood spots on filter paper for the detection of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was evaluated during a 20-week period under a variety of storage environments simulating the harsh tropical field conditions in Kinshasa, Zaire. During the first 6 weeks of storage, all replicates of high- and low-titer HIV-1-positive reference samples remained positive by enzyme immunoassay and Western blotting (immunoblotting), and all replicates of HIV-1-negative samples remained negative under all storage conditions. However, hot and humid storage conditions for up to 20 weeks caused a progressive decline in enzyme immunoassay optical density ratio values, which was particularly noticeable in samples with a low HIV-1 antibody titer. Harsh tropical operational conditions did not cause any repeatedly false-positive results during the 20-week storage period. The use of gas-impermeable bags with desiccant for the storage of blood spots on filter paper improved the stability of HIV-1 antibody detection over time and is recommended for the storage of whole-blood spots on filter paper in harsh tropical field settings
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Clinical Microbiology
    Volume30
    Pages (from-to)1179-1182
    ISSN0095-1137
    Publication statusPublished - 1992

    Keywords

    • B780-tropical-medicine
    • Virology
    • Immunology
    • HIV-1
    • Antibody detection
    • Stability
    • Storage
    • ELISA
    • Western blot
    • Filter paper
    • Congo-Kinshasa
    • Africa-Central

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