False-positive results of enzyme immunoassays for human immunodeficiency virus in patients with uncomplicated malaria.

Malaria may impact upon human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test results. We evaluated two HIV enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) by testing 1,965 Ugandans with malaria. We found poor positive predictive values (53% and 76%), particularly with younger age. Combining EIAs eliminated false positives but missed 21% of true positives. Performance of HIV EIAs in malaria may be unsatisfactory.