Calypte Biomedical Issues Statement.BERKELEY, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--June 1, 1998--In response to a news item that ran across the Associated Press Wire on June 1 at 16:25 EDT EDT abbr. Eastern Daylight Time EDT Eastern Daylight Time EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York EDT , Calypte Biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. Corporation issued the following statement as clarification: "The FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. official quoted in the AP story was misleading in his characterization of the accuracy of the urine Western blot Western blot A technique developed in 1979 that is used to confirm ELISA results. HIV antigen is purified by electrophoresis and attached by blotting to a nylon or nitrocellulose filter. . The two individuals identified as having been 'missed' by the urine test were, in fact, undergoing anti-retroviral therapy for AIDS which has the effect of lowering the level of viral load and often the associated antibodies. The urine-only test system is intended to be used on individuals who do not know their HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. status. In addition, the story did not point out that, in a separate study of high-risk individuals, three samples that tested positive using the urine system had tested negative using a blood screening test. As further evidence of the urine test's importance as a public health tool, the journal Nature Medicine published an article inNovember 1997 which cited independent scientists who were able to use the urine test to isolate or identify HIV in two individuals that tested negative by the blood antibody test."
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