How Often Does HIV Vaccine Trial Participation Produce False-Positive Results?

The continuation of HIV vaccine trials have raised the question of the frequency of vaccine-induced seropositivity (VISP) as a result of participation in the trials. This study found that 42% of study participants had VISP but were truly HIV-seronegative. The rates of VISP varied however based on the construct of the vaccine. Many participants (66%) had indeterminate Western Blots and 10% had positive Western Blots. This illustrates that it is important to do additional testing and clinical assessment when determining someone's HIV status afer participation in a vaccine trial.


Citation: Cooper CJ et al. Vaccine-induced HIV seropositivity/reactivity in noninfected HIV vaccine recipients. JAMA 2010 Jul 21; 304:275.

Original Article (Subscription may be required)

Abstract