Reducing the cost of HIV-testing through use of the IgG antibody captured particle adherence test (GACPAT) in district hospitals.

Abstract

Though the World Health Organization (WHO) has acted to reduce the price of anti-HIV assays for developing countries, the cost of the large-scale testing to be done may still be prohibitive to the health budget of these countries. GACPAT, a modified commercial particle assay, is ten times cheaper than the WHO price of ELISAs. In this study GACPAT was introduced in three district hospital laboratories (DHL) in Tanzania, and the results compared with those on the same sera in a reference laboratory (RL). Sensitivity and specificity were 92.6% and 98.7%, respectively at DHL. It is concluded that GACPAT is a valid, feasible and cheap alternative for ELISA anti-HIV-testing also at district hospital laboratory level.