Detection of HIV-1 in Saliva: Implications for Case-Identification, Clinical Monitoring and Surveillance for Drug Resistance.

Background: Saliva tests that detect antibodies are used to diagnose HIV infection. The goal of this study was to determine whether saliva could be used for nucleic acid-based tests to measure HIV-1 virus load (VL) and detect drug resistance.

Methods: 69 HIV infected individuals provided 5-10 ml of saliva and blood samples.