Do conventional AIDS tests detect all subtypes?
Ans. Routine AIDS tests, which are currently being used, for blood screening and diagnostic purposes detect virtually all subtypes of the human immunodeficiency virus. (Most companies have modified their assays so that they detect the newly identified HIV-1 group O strains.) Q. Are more subtypes likely to “appear”? Ans. 10 subtypes have been identified in the past four years since the techniques to detect subtypes in HIV-1 were introduced in 1992. It is almost certain that new HIV genetic subtypes will be discovered in the future, and that the known subtypes will continue to spread to new areas as the global epidemic continues. For example, two recent articles (Artenstein and Brodine, The Lancet, 4 November 1995) report some cases of persons infected with subtype E in Uruguay and in the United States (apparently from Cambodia and Thailand respectively).
Routine AIDS tests which are currently being used for blood screening and diagnostic purposes detect virtually all subtypes of the human immunodeficiency virus. (Most companies have modified their assays so that they detect the newly identified HIV-1 group O strains.) From UNAIDS HIV Variability Home > HIV/AIDS Info > FAQ > HIV and its effects http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/faq/variability.
