Detection of Antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Saliva

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of our study were to detect the antibody to human immunodeficiency virus in saliva and to compare the presence of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus in saliva and serum, thus assessing the usefulness of saliva in diagnosing HIV status of an individual. Study design: A comparative study was conducted at the HIV unit of Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences and Dayananda Sagar College of Dental Sciences, Bengaluru. The sample size of the study was 80 patients comprising two study groups consisting of 40 HIV positive patents, and control group consisting of 40 HIV-negative patients. Paired serum and saliva samples were collected from the case and control subjects. Serum samples were analyzed for HIV antibody at KIMS hospital by three different ELISA methods. Saliva samples were analyzed using Calypte Aware HIV-1/2 OMT test kit. Results: The sensitivity of saliva test was found to be 97.50% and the specificity was found to be 100%. The positive predictive value of saliva test was found to be 100% and the negative predictive value was found to be 97.56%. Conclusion: Saliva test is a simple, safe and efficient method to detect presence of antibodies to HIV. It also gives quick results and eliminates risk of needle prick injuries and also enables the dentist to perform the test in a dental setup, thus making it more convenient for the patient, who would otherwise have to visit a HIV cell for testing.