The diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus infection: progress in less than five years.

Diagnostic tests for human immunodeficiency virus first became commercially available in 1985, only two years after the virus was discovered. In the short period of time since then, we have witnessed improvements in antibody detection methods, refinements in culture techniques, and the introduction of antigen and nucleic acid detection methods, including the polymerase chain reaction. These diagnostic tools as well as their advantages and disadvantages are reviewed in this report.