[Detection of HIV virus antibodies in saliva]

The authors evaluate the use of saliva as alternative biological material for detection of HIV antibodies. If collected properly and when using the appropriate ELISA methods, HIV antibodies can be assessed in saliva with considerable sensitivity and specificity. Testing in saliva eliminates many disadvantages found when assessing HIV antibodies in serum. It does not require trained staff for blood sampling, collection and processing of saliva reduces the risk of professional infection to a minimum and can be carried out also under field conditions. A great advantage is the easy and unpretentious transport of collected samples to the laboratory, even long distance transport at extreme temperatures (transport medium in the testing kit Omni-SAL ensures great stability of the sample as well as proper collection of the sample). Alternative testing in saliva is useful in particular for epidemiological surveillance and for screening of HIV antibodies in population groups with a high risk of infections such as drug users and commercial works where it is often very difficult to obtain blood samples for examination.