DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND PATIENT CARE

Cell Research, 15(11-12):870-876, Nov-Dec 2005

Update on the laboratory diagnosis and monitoring of HIV infection

Niel T CONSTANTINE^1,3, William KABAT⁴, Richard Y ZHAO^1-3,*

¹Department of Pathology, ²Department of Microbiology and Immunology,University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201-1192, USA
³Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, MD 21201-1192, USA
⁴Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL 60614-3363, USA

Correspondence: Richard Y ZHAO 410-706-6301 (phone) 410-706-6302 (fax) E-mail:zhao@som.umaryland.edu

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Abstract

In China, the estimated number of HIV infected cases is approaching one million. Although public education has been initiated for awareness and behavioral modification for this devastating infection, better diagnostic methods are needed to identify infected persons and manage infection. Simple and more accurate diagnostic tools have become available, particularly for early detection and to monitor treatment in those who receive anti-retroviral treatment. In this short review, we summarize some of the common and new methodologies that can be used in clinical laboratories, in the field, or in private laboratories. These range from simple antibody tests to more sophistical methods that are used to monitor disease progression and identify drug resistance. These tools can assist physicians, medical practitioners, and laboratory personnel to select suitable diagnostic tools for the diagnosis, blood screening, monitoring of disease progression, and for detection of drug resistance to anti-retroviral therapies.

Keywords: HIV, diagnosis, viral load, drug resistance.