Utility of rapid antibody tests to exclude HIV-1 infection among infants and children aged <18 months in a low-resource setting

Abstract Background Excluding HIV infection among infants and young children in resource-poor settings where nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) are not routinely available remains a considerable challenge. Objectives To assess the performance of two rapid HIV antibody tests (RT) used alone and in parallel for excluding HIV infection among acutely ill infants and children 98%, respectively, across all age brackets ≥2 < 18 months. Overall sensitivity and specificity for a single RT was 98.2% and 99%, respectively, for Determine, and 85.5% and 99.6%, respectively, for Capillus. Conclusions In a setting with a maternal HIV prevalence rate of