IgA Antibody Test Reveals HIV Status of Infants 3-6 Months of Age

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
*Update
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE Greg Folkers
Tuesday, December 24, 1991 [phone]
4:00 p.m., EST
IgA Antibody Test Reveals HIV Status of Infants 3-6 Months of Age
A rapid, simple, and inexpensive blood test can reliably identify HIV infection in
babies as young as 3 to 6 months of age, according to a study of 320 infants in Baltimore,
Maryland, and Port au Prince, Haiti. The research report appears in the December 25 edition
of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
confirms previous research that suggested the early diagnostic value of a test to detect IgA
antibodies to HIV in infants.
In contrast, the HIV antibody test now in routine use, which tests for a different class
of antibodies, cannot reliably detect HIV infection in infants younger than 12 to 15 months of
age.
"This study demonstrates the promise of the IgA antibody test for detecting HIV in
infants many months before the blood tests currently used," said Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.,
Director of NIAID. "Early diagnosis of HIV infection in infants identifies those likely to

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