Comparison of the sensitivity of four rapid assays for the detection of antibodies to HIV-1/HIV-2 during seroconversion.

Objectives: To compare the sensitivity of four rapid assays for the detection of antibodies against HIV-1 during early seroconversion.

Methods: Four rapid assays for the detection of antibodies to HIV-1/HIV-2 (SUDS HIV 1 + 2, TestPack HIV-1/HIV-2, HIV-SPOT and CAPILLUS HIV-1/HIV-2) were evaluated on 38 sera derived from 14 HIV-1 seroconverters, formerly tested with Abbott second- and third-generation HIV-1/HIV-2 enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Diagnostic Biotechnology HIV blot 2.2.