[Implementation of the COBAS Taqman HIV-1 Test, v1.0 for vertical transmission diagnosis]

Vertical transmission is the main route of HIV infection in childhood. Because of the persistence of maternal HIV antibodies, virologic assays that directly detect HIV are required to diagnose HIV infection in infants younger than 18 months of age. The sensitivity of HIV RNA/DNA assays increases as the child becomes older. These tests have specificity values greater than 95%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the COBAS Taqman HIV-1 Test, v1.0 assay (Roche) and its concordance with a Multiplex Nested-PCR. Of 341 samples processed, 15 were positive and 326 negative by both methods. Sensitivity and specificity overall values for the viral load assay were 88.2% and 100%, respectively. Our results indicate that the COBAS Taqman assay evaluated could be used as an alternative method to diagnose HIV congenital infection.