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Updated: May 4, 2026
Conformational Evaluation of HIV-1 Trimeric Envelope Glycoproteins Using a Cell-based ELISA Assay
Published on: September 14, 2014
Field evaluation of the Abbott ARCHITECT HIV Ag/Ab Combo immunoassay
Anfumbom Kfutwah1, Véronique Lemée2, Hélène Valérie Ngono1
1Service de Virologie, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Membre du Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur, Yaounde', Cameroun. BP 1274, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Background:
Fourth generation assays for HIV diagnosis are progressively being introduced into routine services, due to their improvement of diagnosis. In spite of this, HIV diagnosis remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, due to false positive reactivity. There is a continuous need for field evaluations and routine validations of fourth generation HIV tests in African populations.
Objectives:
Evaluate the performances of the ARCHITECT HIV Ag/Ab kit (Abbott) in a population living in an African setting-Cameroon compared to a population living in a European setting-France.
Study Design:
645 HIV samples from both France and Cameroon were evaluated. The positive panel (378 samples) included a diverse series of HIV-1 variants (groups M, N, O, and P) as well as HIV-2 samples. Results were compared to original diagnosis done with other 4th generation assays (AxSYM HIV Ag/Ab (Abbott) and Vidas HIV DUO QUICK) (bioMérieux).
Results:
Sensitivity of the ARCHITECT was 100% in both sites. It diagnosed all variants of the panel with different reactivity profiles following strain diversity. A wider range of reactivity was observed for group O. Specificity was slightly lower (97.6%) in Cameroon than in France (98.6%), probably due to a higher rate of false positive reactivity. ARCHITECT HIV Ag/Ab assay had high performances in clinical sensitivity and specificity and is adapted to the wide genetic diversity of viruses circulating in West Central Africa.
Conclusion:
Our results further highlight the need to evaluate HIV diagnostic tests before introduction into routine diagnostic services both in the North and in the South.
