RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Several commercially available molecular techniques were developed based on subtype B of HIV-1, which represents only 10% of HIV strains worldwide. Indeed, in sub-Saharan Africa, non-B subtypes of HIV-1 are predominant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performances of the COBAS® AmpliPrep/COBAS® (CAP/CTM) HIV-1 Qualitative assays to detect the broad range of HIV-1 variants circulating in Central Africa and compare to the outgoing CAP/CTM HIV-1 Quantitative test v2.0 (Roche Molecular Systems), chosen as reference gold standard molecular assay. METHODS: The CAP/CTM HIV-1 Qualitative tests versions 1.0 and 2.0 (Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., Branchburg, NJ, USA) were evaluated compared to CAP/CTM TaqMan HIV-1 Quantitative test v2.0 (Roche Molecular Systems) on 239 dried plasma spot (DPS) from 133 HIV-1-infected (with detectable plasma HIV RNA load) and 106 uninfected children, followed-up at Complexe Pédiatrique, Bangui, Central African Republic. RESULTS: The version 1.0 showed low sensitivity (93.2%), with 9 (6.8%) false negative results, demonstrating under-detection of non-B HIV-1 subtypes. In contrast, the upgraded version 2.0 showed 100%-sensitivity, 100%-specificity and perfect agreement (κ coefficient, 1.0). CONCLUSION: Our evaluation in the Central African Republic demonstrates the clinical implications of the accuracy and reliability of the CAP/CTM HIV-1 Qualitative assay for early diagnosis of HIV-1 in Central African children.