In other words, this Western Blot was not tested against
ISOLATION of HIV from positive samples.

Which is really all you need to know about these tests.
It is the same old story over and over again.

You know - dissidents and anyone else could make a lot
of headway by seeing to what extent HIV can be isolated
from blood samples that test positive on any of these tests.
(And by "isolate", I mean the orthodox methods of virus
isolation from blood.)

Alex

REPOST FROM BELOW

HIV-1 Western Blot Kit
Epitope, Inc. Product Number 72827
PN201-3039 Revision #8
"SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION OF THE TEST

A sample that is reactive in both the EIA screening test and the
Western blot is presumed to be positive for antibody to HIV-1,
indicating infection with this virus except in situations of passively
acquired antibody or experimental vaccination."

"LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCEDURE

1. The assay must be performed in strict accordance with these
instructions to obtain accurate, reproducible results.

2. Although a Positive result may indicate infection with the HIV-1
virus, a diagnosis of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) can be
made only if an individual meets the case definition of AIDS
established by the Centers for Disease Control. A repeat test on an
independent sample should be considered to control for sample mix-up or
operator error, and to verify a positive test result.

3. Individuals with HIV-1 infection may present incomplete patterns due
to the natural history of AIDS or other immunodeficiency states, e.g.:

a. AIDS patients may lose antibody reactions to p24 & p31;

b. Infants born to HIV-1 infected mothers, but who are uninfected, may
display incomplete patterns as passively acquired maternal antibodies
begin to disappear ;

c. Individuals who have recently seroconverted may display incomplete
band patterns;

d. Infected patients with malignancies and individuals receiving
immunosuppressive drugs may fail to develop a Positive result;

e. Individuals infected with HTLV-I/II or HIV-2, may exhibit incomplete
cross-reactivity;

f. Individuals may develop incomplete patterns that reflect the
composition of experimental HIV sub-unit vacines that they may have
received.

[...]

5. Since reactivity of any degree with any of the virus-specific
proteins identified on the strip is possible evidence of antibodies to
HIV-1, all samples interpreted as Indeterminate should be repeated
using the original specimen. In addition, it is recommended that
samples interpreted as Indeterminate be retested after six months,
using a fresh specimen.

6. Do not use this kit as the sole basis of diagnosis of HIV-1
infection. 7. A Negative result does not exclude the possibility of
HIV-1 infection. Antibody testing should not be used in lieu of donor
self-exclusion by blood collection establishments."

Sensitivity and Specificity

Sensitivity and specificity of the HIV-1 Western Blot Kit was
determined in comparative studies with a previously licenced HIV-1
Western blot using EIA repeatedly reactive samples from high AIDS risk
and low risk populations respectively."*

"INTERFERING FACTORS AND SUBSTANCES

Testing was performed on specimens from individuals with clinical
conditions unrelated to HIV-1 which might result in a reactivity with
proteins present. Samples studied included 25 from persons with auto
immune diseases, 12 with elevated gammaglobulins, 110 with viral
infections unrelated to HIV-1 and 38 other conditions. The viral
infections included samples positive in clinical tests for
Cytomegalovirus (12), Infectious mononucleosis (10), Epstein-Barr virus
(3), Rubells (12), Varcella-Zoster (3), Herpes Simplex (12), HBsAg (7),
and HTLV-1 (39). Although bands were occasionally present at viral
locations, none of the strips could be interpreted as positive."**

COMMENTARY:

* Although the Western Blot is supposed to be a "more specific" test to
confirm the results of the EIA (ELISA), the specificity and sensitivity
are assumed by the same indirect means. No gold standard was applied,
such as isolating HIV-1 from fresh patient plasma, in any of these
studies. These studies confuse specificity with a high reproducibility
of EIA by Western Blot.

** The samples studied to establish whether false positives resulted
from interfering factors appear to represent individuals with isolated
incidents of these factors. Even so, 38% had reactions on one or more
"viral" bands of the Western Blot. People at risk for AIDS typically
have accumulated many of these factors. One would assume that this
would lead to higher reactivity on the Western Blot. This presents a
catch 22 situation: these factors may be the cause of AIDS-like
syndromes but are considered HIV-1 related because the patients react
positive on EIA and Western Blot tests.