ENVELOPE CROSS-REACTIVITY IN WESTERN BLOT FOR HIV-1 AND HIV-2 MAY NOT INDICATE DUAL INFECTION

Serological identification of infection with human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2) by western blot alone may not be sufficient to diagnose dual infection. Extensive crossreactions (eg, to envelope glycoprotein antibody) are seen on heterologous western blots. The use of other techniques, in this case competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, indicates that blot patterns previously thought to demonstrate simultaneous dual infections should be interpreted with caution.