Stability of saliva for measuring HIV in the tropics.

If HIV is to be detected among pregnant women in remote regions of the tropics, HIV antibodies need to remain stable until specimens arrive at the laboratory. Our objective was to assess the stability of HIV antibodies in saliva held for up to 1 month at ambient temperature in Yangon, Myanmar. We gathered 10 saliva specimens from each of 102 HIV-infected persons with the Omni-Sal collection device (Saliva Diagnostic Systems, Inc.

Local evaluation of a rapid HIV assay for use in developing countries.

We present a research scheme for evaluating inexpensive HIV rapid tests in a developing country setting and assess the field validity of the Sero Strip HIV 1/2 rapid test. The research design features the random allocation of 100 true HIV-positive and 100 true HIV-negative serum specimens to 4 groups, followed by blind testing for HIV status. After one short training session, laboratory technicians at 4 township hospitals (25-35 beds) located 20-50 km from Yangon, Myanmar were sent 800 sera labelled with only an identification number and divided into four groups of 200 specimens each, half being HIV-positive and half HIV-negative.

Saliva-based HIV-antibody testing in Thailand.

Objective: To determine whether saliva could serve as an alternative to serum for HIV-antibody testing in an ongoing sentinel surveillance program in Thailand.

Methods: Serum and saliva specimens were collected from 1955 individuals in four of the 73 sentinel sites of the national surveillance program in Thailand. Intravenous drug users, female prostitutes, and men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics were included as participants.