Letter to the editor: additional evidence to support a cross-reactivity of SARS-CoV-2 with HIV chemiluminescent assay

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a 43-year-old male patient with no clinically relevant changes, underwent routine examinations at the Brazilian Army Institute of Biology on 25 May 2021. The fourth-generation chemiluminescence assay, Vitros HIV Combo (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, New Jersey, USA), for HIV-1 and HIV-2 was performed. The Vitros HIV Combo test detects both HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies and the p24 antigen in acute cases of HIV infection. The result obtained was 2.54 s/CO (sample relative light unit/cut-off relative light unit). Specimens with s/CO values of ≥1 are considered reactive for HIV. Following the flowchart established by the Technical Manual for the Diagnosis of HIV Infection in Adults and Children, prepared by the Brazilian Health Ministry,1 a new sample was obtained on 4 June 2021, for confirmation and additional quantification of HIV-1 viral load using real-time reverse transcription PCR (M2000sp and M2000rt; Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA) and an...

Source: Journal of Clinical Pathology - June 17, 2022 Category: Pathology Authors: Cipitelli, M. d. C., Dornelas-Ribeiro, M., Santos, C. G. M. Tags: COVID-19 PostScript Source Type: research