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Stanley H. Weiss, MD; James J. Goedert, MD
National Cancer Institute Bethesda, Md

JAMA. 1985;253(23):3397.

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In Reply.—

The predictive value of a test, such as the HTLV-III antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, will vary significantly according to the characteristics of the population being tested (such as AIDS risk factors, geographic region and time period, and perhaps specific medical conditions). Barry et al, Miller, and Kleinman all focus on this important issue with regard to the blood bank setting, which requires estimation of the "true-positive" rate (prevalence) within the test group. We lacked sufficient data and external criteria by which to assess accurately current HTLV-III seroprevalence among various blood donor groups to perform this calculation. We agree with Barry et al that optimal test operating characteristics may vary with the proposed application, and, as pointed out by Dr Miller, we carefully outlined the implications of such varying approaches. We emphatically agree that HTLV-III testing must not be performed casually for a multitude of research and social reasons. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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