DETECTION OF ANTI-HIV-1 IGG ANTIBODIES IN WHOLE SALIVA BY GACELISA AND WESTERN-BLOT ASSAYS

The present study, based on 158 HIV seropositives and 167 HIV seronega tives, demonstrates that saliva collected with the Omni-SAL(TM) device and tested with GACELISA (an IgG antibody capture ELISA) is an effect ive non-invasive alternative to serum for anti-HIV IgG antibody screen ing. The study also shows that a conventional serum Western blot kit c an he used, with slight modifications, for confirmatory testing of sal iva specimens. Collecting saliva with the Omni-SAL(TM) device had a ve ry good acceptance rate among Tanzanian subjects, and although this di agnostic method is not yet known by the general public, 65% of the stu dy participants preferred to give saliva instead of blood for HIV test ing.