Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antigen and culture assays.

Commercial enzyme immunoassays have recently been developed for the detection and quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral proteins in blood and other body fluids of infected patients. At the same time, culture assays for HIV-1 have become more rapid, sensitive, and specific for HIV-1 isolation from the blood of infected patients. Both of these assays have clinical utility in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of HIV-1 infection in certain patients.