Detection of antibodies to HIV-1 in serum and saliva

In this study we report the detection of antibodies to HIV-1 in paired serum and saliva collected from 118 HIV-1 infected patients and 80 normal controls in Madras, South India. Saliva was collected using Omnisal (R) collection device. All the reactive samples were confirmed by Western blot test (WB), while all the control serum and saliva were negative for HIV-1 antibodies. 107 (90.6%) HIV individual's serum and saliva contained antibodies to HIV-1. When these reactive samples were tested by WB test for confirmation the following results were obtained; 68% HIV individuals' paired serum and saliva were positive; while 9% of serum samples were positive and the saliva specimens were negative on WB. 3% of paired samples showed indeterminate Western blot pattern in contrast to 10% of serum showed full WB pattern while the saliva result was indeterminate. It is suggested that saliva testing may be appropriate for surveillance and epidemiological studies. However, if used for individual HIV diagnosis it is imperative to use a confirmatory test.