Detection of anti-human T-lymphotropic virus type I antibody in whole blood by a novel counting immunoassay.

Background: Assays to screen for and confirm the presence of the antibody for human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) are currently performed with serum or plasma. We developed and evaluated a new counting immunoassay (CIA) for the detection of HTLV-I antibody in whole blood, using recombinant and synthetic peptide antigens.

Methods: We assessed the CIA for detection of HTLV-I antibody in whole blood and plasma.