[HIV antigen study]

In the course of a field study in which the blood banks of Vienna, Linz and Innsbruck were involved, the HTLV-III-antigen EIA, developed by Abbott laboratories for research means, was tested for its usefulness in routine blood transfusion. Through the registration of donors newly infected with the HIV virus, who at the time showed no seroconversion, the aim was to narrow the 'diagnostic window' of the HIV infection, and to increase the security of routine blood transfusion. Parallel to the testing of all donors of the Zentralinstitut für Bluttransfusion in Innsbruck for HIV antigens and HIV antibodies, neopterin serum was also measured.