Specificity of new peptide immunoassays versus other immunoassays and agglutination tests for detection of HIV antibody in African sera.

The specificity of three HIV EIAs using synthetic peptides was evaluated and compared with that of four commercial EIAs using recombinant proteins or whole virus lysates of HIV-1 or of HIV-1 and HIV-2, and of two tests based on agglutination of sensitized particles. A total of 734 West African sera were screened. The best results were obtained with tests using recombinant proteins. HIV tests using synthetic peptides able to distinguish between HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies showed comparable specificity, but some false negative results represent a major handicap of these peptide EIAs in screening for HIV antibodies.