Reappraisal of the early diagnostic value of serial analyses of western blot patterns for HIV infection in neonates

Abstract

Objective: Serial Western Blot (WB) testing was utilized for the early diagnosis of neonatal HIV infection. Methods: Serum samples included five anti-HIV positive mother/child pairs and 57 newborns who received hepatitis B immunoglobulin and hepatitis B vaccine. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serial WB were supplemented by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gag sequencing studies. Results: Serial WB patterns between the five mothers and their newborns were initially identical. Reaction lines, however, declined progressively and proportionately in the three infants not HIV infected. Two newborns were diagnosed early to be HIV-positive by evaluating the intensifying and increasing WB reaction lines. For the group of newborns who underwent the hepatitis B control program, all WB reaction lines declined progressively with time and none of these infants were truly HIV infected. Conclusion: Serial WB is simple and reliable and may be used for the early diagnosis of HIV infection in infants.