CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) forewarns on HIV kit shortage
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is a risk of a possible shortage of supplemental test kits used for confirmatory testing of HIV antibodies in blood samples. Calypte Biomedical announced in April that it might stop manufacturing the Cambridge Biotech HIV-1 Western blot kit. The kit is one of two such FDA licensed kits on the market. The other is the Genetic Systems Western blot kit made by BioRad. A third product, made by OraSure Technologies, is approved for supplemental testing of oral fluid samples found reactive for antibodies to HIV-1.