Retroviral Testing Essentials For Quality Control and Laboratory Diagnosis Routledge Revivals Series

First published in 1992, Retroviral Testing: Essentials for Quality Control and Laboratory Diagnosis is a concise, well-organized volume that discusses the background of retroviral disease, available testing technologies, test result interpretation, new testing alternatives, and essential quality control/quality assurance measures necessary for achieving accurate test results. It provides fundamental information on the epidemiology and infections caused by HIV and HTLV retroviruses, in addition to covering standards for handling blood samples.
Other features include a description of immune responses to retroviral agents and a detailed examination of the principles, interpretation, usage and advantages of numerous screening and confirmatory assays. Methods to evaluate diagnostic assays and statistical methods to assess test performance are covered. The text is supplemented by 57 diagrams and 14 tables, including an extensive list of over 130 diagnostic assays for the retroviruses.
Retroviral Testing: Essentials for Quality Control and Laboratory Diagnosis is an absolutely critical reference for all medical laboratories, medical technologists, educators, blood bank and immunology supervisors and personnel, and organizations such as WHO and CDC.

HIV-1: Biology. The Immune System During HIV-1 Infection. Screening Tests for HIV-1 Infection. Supplemental Tests for HIV-1 Infection. HIV-2. HTLV-I and HTLV-II. Indicators of the Value of Diagnostic Tests. Quality CONTROL and Quality Assurance. Laboratory Techniques. How to Evaluate Diagnostic Test Kits. Laboratory Safety. Summary and Closing Remarks. Glossary. Appendices. Index.

Professional

Niel T. Constantine, Ph.D., M.T. (ASCP), is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Director and Division Head of Clinical Immunology at the University of Maryland Medical System/Hos- pital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Constantine obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Pathology in 1981. Dr. Constantine has taught medical technology students for over eight years, and was course chairman for clinical immunology, anatomy and physiology, and clinical pathology at the Program in Medical Technology at the University of Maryland. He also acted as assistant director for continuing education. In 1987, Dr. Constantine accepted an overseas assignment at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit #3 in Cairo, Egypt to direct a diagnostic and research laboratory for retro- and hepatotropic viruses. During his three years in Cairo, the laboratory became a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center for AIDS in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Dr. Constantine coordinated many HIV testing workshops and acted as a WHO consultant in several East African and Middle East countries. When returning to the University of Maryland in 1990, his major responsibilities include directing the clinical immunology laboratory in a 800 bed hospital, managing the budget, and conducting research in the field of retro virology. His major research interests include the development of improved diagnostic assays for the retroviruses. Dr. Constantine is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and is active in national and international conferences. He is the recipient of several research grants from the World AIDS Foundation to conduct HIV technology transfer in the countries of Ethiopia and Rwanda. His past activities included consultancies in Kuwait, Egypt, Pakistan, Abu Dabi, and Ethiopia. Recently, he has acted as a consultant for Family Health International to plan quality assurance programs in the