Health professionals can find below more information about HIV diagnosis and monitoring, via the AIDS Reference Laboratories (ARL). If you search for other information about HIV and AIDS, please find on our other pages information about:
The 7 AIDS Reference Laboratories (ARL) in Belgium are responsible for:
- HIV diagnosis and monitoring:
- HIV diagnosis in adults
- HIV diagnosis in neonates born to HIV seropositive mothers
- HIV viral load measurement in HIV patients
- Drug resistance determination in HIV patients
- HIV laboratory research:
- Monitoring of the performance of tests for HIV diagnosis and monitoring on the Belgian market
- HIV clinical and epidemiological research:
- Collecting, processing and reporting data on the HIV epidemic in Belgium
The content of this ARL website is a consensus between all 7 laboratories.
Guidelines for HIV diagnosis and monitoring
Select your analysis, to get more information on the purpose, description, prescription, indications and limitations of the test and practical instructions and guidance.
- HIV diagnosis in adults
- HIV diagnosis in neonates born to HIV seropositive mothers
- HIV viral load in HIV patients
- Drug resistance in HIV patients
If you (i.e. general practitioner) would need further guidance about diagnosis or monitoring of an HIV patient, you can contact an ARL of your choice.
Contact information for further guidance about diagnosis and monitoring
Please find laboratory contact information, practical instructions and request forms below.
- ITG – Instituut Tropische Geneeskunde
- D. VAN DEN BOSSCHE
AIDS-Referentielaboratorium
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Klinische Wetenschappen
Nationalestraat, 155
2000 Antwerpen
Tel. : 03/345.55.97
- D. VAN DEN BOSSCHE
- KUL – KU Leuven / UZ Leuven
- Prof. M. VAN RANST
AIDS-Referentielaboratorium
UZ KU Leuven
Laboratoriumgeneeskunde
Herestraat, 49
3000 Leuven
Tel. : 016/34.79.08
- Prof. M. VAN RANST
- UCL – Université Catholique de Louvain / Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc
- Prof. B. KABAMBA MUKADI
Laboratoire de référence SIDA
Université catholique de Louvain
IREC – Pôle de microbiologie médicale
Tour Claude Bernard
Avenue Hippocrate, 54 bte B1.54.05
1200 Bruxelles
Tel. :02/764.54.92
- Prof. B. KABAMBA MUKADI
- UG – Universiteit Gent / UZ Gent
- Prof. C. VERHOFSTEDE
AIDS-Referentielaboratorium
Universiteit Gent
Vakgroep diagnostische wetenschappen
MRB2, ingang 38
Corneel Heymanslaan, 10
9000 Gent
Tel. : 09/332.51.61
- Prof. C. VERHOFSTEDE
- ULB – Université Libre de Bruxelles / Hôpital Erasme
- Prof. M-L. DELFORGE
Laboratoire de référence SIDA
Hôpital universitaire ULB Erasme
Route de Lennik, 808
1070 Bruxelles
Tel. : 0⅖55.57.83
- Prof. M-L. DELFORGE
- ULg – Université de Liège / CHU de Liège
- Prof. M-P. HAYETTE
Laboratoire de référence SIDA
CHU de Liège
Domaine universitaire du Sart-Tilman
Service de microbiologie médicale
Niveau 2 – Bât. B23
4000 Liège
Tel. :04/366.24.54
- Prof. M-P. HAYETTE
- VUB STP – Vrije Universiteit Brussel / CHU Saint-Pierre
- Dr S. VAN DEN WIJNGAERT
CHU Saint-Pierre
Laboratoire de référence SIDA VUB
Site CHU Saint-Pierre
Rue Haute, 322
1000 Bruxelles
Tel. : 02/435.20.60
- Dr S. VAN DEN WIJNGAERT
- VUB UZB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel / UZ Brussel
- Prof. D. DE GEYTER
AIDS-Referentielaboratorium
Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel
Laerbeeklaan, 101
1090 Brussel
Tel. : 02/477.50.00
- Prof. D. DE GEYTER
Publications
HIV-related publications:
Publications in 2023
- Lagatie O, Lauwers D, Singh H, Vanroye F, Stieh DJ, Vingerhoets J, Lavreys L, Oriol-Mathieu V, Colón W, Verhofstede C, Vercauteren K, Van den Bossche D, Pau MG. Towards Novel HIV-1 Serodiagnostic Tests without Vaccine-Induced Seroreactivity. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jun 15;11(3):e0071523. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00715-23. Epub 2023 May 24. PMID: 37222611; PMCID: PMC10269835.
Publications in 2022
- Van Beckhoven D, Serrien B, Montourcy M, Verhofstede C, Van den Bossche D, Libois A, De Geyter D, Martin T, Van den Eynde S, Vuylsteke B, Darcis G, van Halem K, Florence E, Deblonde J; Belgian Research on AIDS and HIV Consortium (BREACH). Impact of COVID-19 on the Belgian HIV epidemic: slowdown of HIV transmission and testing and adaptation of care. BMC Infect Dis. 2022 Dec 3;22(1):901. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07879-1. PMID: 36463126; PMCID: PMC9719146.
- Mortier V, Debaisieux L, Dessilly G, Stoffels K, Vaira D, Vancutsem E, Van Laethem K, Vanroye F, Verhofstede C. Prevalence and evolution of transmitted human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance in Belgium between 2013 and 2019. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 12;9(7):ofac195. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac195.
- De Brier N, Van Schuylenbergh J, Van Remoortel H, Van den Bossche D, Fieuws S, Molenberghs G, De Buck E, T’Sjoen G, Compernolle V, Platteau T, Motmans J. Prevalence and associated risk factors of HIV infections in a representative transgender and non-binary population in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium): Protocol for a community-based, cross-sectional study using time-location sampling. PLoS One. 2022 Apr 11;17(4):e0266078. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0266078.
- De Clercq J, Rutsaert S, De Scheerder MA, Verhofstede C, Callens S, Vandekerckhove L. Benefits of antiretroviral therapy initiation during acute HIV infection. Acta Clin Belg. 2022 Feb;77(1):168-176. doi:10.1080/17843286.2020.1770413.
- Valcke B, Vercauteren K, Padalko E, Verhofstede C, D’Herde K, Willaert W. Screening algorithms for HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis in an anatomical donation program. Ann Anat. 2022 Jan;239:151805. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2021.151805.
- Laeremans T, D’haese S, Aernout J, Barbé K, Pannus P, Rutsaert S, Vancutsem E, Vanham G, Necsoi C, Spiegelaere W, Couttenye M, Herssens N, Scheerder MA, Wit S, Vandekerckhove L, Florence E, Aerts JL, Allard SD. Qualitative plasma viral load determination as a tool for screening of viral reservoir size in PWH. AIDS. 2022 Nov 1;36(13):1761-1768. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003352. Epub 2022 Aug 10. PMID: 36172869.
Publications in 2021
- Plum PE, Maes N, Sauvage AS, Frippiat F, Meuris C, Uurlings F, Lecomte M, Léonard P, Paquot N, Fombellida K, Vaira D, Moutschen M, Darcis G. Impact of switch from tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-based regimens to tenofovir alafenamide-based regimens on lipid profile, weight gain and cardiovascular risk score in people living with HIV. BMC Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 6;21(1):910. doi:10.1186/s12879-021-06479-9.
- El Moussaoui M, Lambert N, Maes N, Fombellida K, Vaira D, Moutschen M, Darcis G. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic situation on HIV care in Liège, Belgium. HIV Res Clin Pract. 2021 Jun;22(3):63-70.
Publications in 2020
- Adams P, Fievez V, Schober R, Amand M, Iserentant G, Rutsaert S, Dessilly G, Vanham G, Hedin F, Cosma A, Moutschen M, Vandekerckhove L, Seguin-Devaux C. CD32+CD4+ memory T cells are enriched for total HIV-1 DNA in tissues from humanized mice. iScience. 2020 Nov 30;24(1):101881. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101881.
- Stoffels K, Vanroye F, Mortier V, Debaisieux L, Delforge ML, Depypere M, Dessilly G, Vaira D, Vancutsem E, Van den Wijngaert S, Van Laethem K, Vercauteren KOA, Verhofstede C, Fransen K. Chronic and early antiretroviral therapy impact human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serological assay sensitivity, leading to more false-negative test results in HIV diagnosis. J Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 13;222(10):1660-1669. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa271.
- Hebberecht L, Mortier V, Dauwe K, Schauvliege M, Staelens D, Demecheleer E, Stoffels K, Vanroye F, Delforge ML, Vancutsem E, Dessilly G, Vaira D, Van Laethem K, Verhofstede C. High frequency of new recombinant forms in HIV-1 transmission networks demonstrated by full genome sequencing. Infect Genet Evol. 2020 Oct;84:104365. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104365.
- El Moussaoui M, Lambert I, Maes N, Sauvage AS, Frippiat F, Meuris C, Uurlings F, Lecomte M, Léonard P, Fombellida K, Vaira D, Vercheval C, Moutschen M, Darcis G. Evolution of drug interactions with antiretroviral medication in people with HIV. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 18;7(11):ofaa416. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa416.
- Darcis G, Vaira D, Moutschen M. Impact of coronavirus pandemic and containment measures on HIV diagnosis. Epidemiol Infect. 2020 Aug 24;148:e185. doi: 10.1017/S0950268820001867.
- Capina R, Li K, Kearney L, Vandamme AM, Harrigan PR, Van Laethem K. Quality control of next-generation sequencing-based HIV-1 drug resistance data in clinical laboratory information systems framework. Viruses. 2020 Jun 14;12(6):645. doi: 10.3390/v12060645.
- Darcis G, Maes N, Pasternak AO, Sauvage AS, Frippiat F, Meuris C, Uurlings F, Lecomte M, Léonard P, Elmoussaoui M, Fombellida K, Vaira D, Moutschen M. Detectability of HIV residual viremia despite therapy is highly associated with treatment with a protease inhibitor-based combination antiretroviral therapy. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 Feb 21;64(3):e01902-19. doi:10.1128/AAC.01902-19.
Publications in 2019
- Hebberecht L, Vancoillie L, Schauvliege M, Staelens D, Demecheleer E, Hardy J, Mortier V, Verhofstede C. Single genome sequencing of near full-length HIV-1 RNA using a limiting dilution approach. J Virol Methods. 2019 Dec;274:113737. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2019.113737.
- Verhofstede C, Mortier V, Dauwe K, Callens S, Deblonde J, Dessilly G, Delforge ML, Fransen K, Sasse A, Stoffels K, Van Beckhoven D, Vanroye F, Vaira D, Vancutsem E, Van Laethem K. Exploring HIV-1 transmission dynamics by combining phylogenetic analysis and infection timing. Viruses. 2019 Nov 26;11(12):1096. doi: 10.3390/v11121096.
- Arendt V, Amand M, Iserentant G, Lemaire M, Masquelier C, Ndayisaba GF, Verhofstede C, Karita E, Allen S, Chevigné A, Schmit JC, Bercoff DP, Seguin-Devaux C. Predominance of the heterozygous CCR5 delta-24 deletion in African individuals resistant to HIV infection might be related to a defect in CCR5 addressing at the cell surface. J Int AIDS Soc. 2019 Sep;22(9):e25384. doi:10.1002/jia2.25384.
- De Scheerder MA, Vrancken B, Dellicour S, Schlub T, Lee E, Shao W, Rutsaert S, Verhofstede C, Kerre T, Malfait T, Hemelsoet D, Coppens M, Dhondt A, De Looze D, Vermassen F, Lemey P, Palmer S, Vandekerckhove L. HIV rebound Is predominantly fueled by genetically identical viral expansions from diverse reservoirs. Cell Host Microbe. 2019 Sep 11;26(3):347-358.e7. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2019.08.003.
- Theys K, Libin PJK, Van Laethem K, Abecasis AB. An evolutionary model-based approach to quantify the genetic barrier to drug resistance in fast-evolving viruses and its application to HIV-1 subtypes and integrase inhibitors. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2019 Jul 25;63(8):e00539-19. doi:10.1128/AAC.00539-19.
- Van de Laar MJ, Bosman A, Pharris A, Andersson E, Assoumou L, Ay E, Bannert N, Bartmeyer B, Brady M, Chaix ML, Descamps D, Dauwe K, Fonager J, Hauser A, Lunar M, Mezei M, Neary M, Poljak M, van Sighem A, Verhofstede C, Amato-Gauci AJ, Broberg EK. Piloting a surveillance system for HIV drug resistance in the European Union. Euro Surveill. 2019 May;24(19):1800390. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.19.1800390.
- Adams P, Vancutsem E, Nicolaizeau C, Servais JY, Piérard D, François JH, Schneider T, Paxinos EE, Marins EG, Canchola JA, Seguin-Devaux C. Multicenter evaluation of the cobas® HIV-1 quantitative nucleic acid test for use on the cobas® 4800 system for the quantification of HIV-1 plasma viral load. J Clin Virol. 2019 May;114:43-49. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2019.03.008.
- Vinken L, Fransen K, Cuypers L, Alexiev I, Balotta C, Debaisieux L, Seguin-Devaux C, García Ribas S, Gomes P, Incardona F, Kaiser R, Ruelle J, Sayan M, Paraschiv S, Paredes R, Peeters M, Sönnerborg A, Vancutsem E, Vandamme AM, Van den Wijngaert S, Van Ranst M, Verhofstede C, Stadler T, Lemey P, Van Laethem K. Earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment coincides with an initial control of the HIV-1 sub-subtype F1 outbreak among men-having-sex-with-men in Flanders, Belgium. Front Microbiol. 2019 Mar 26;10:613. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00613.
- Dufrasne FE, Lucchetti M, Dessilly G, Ruelle J, Martin A, Kabamba-Mukadi B. Short Communication: An insertion of seven amino acids in the envelope cytoplasmic tail of HIV-2 selected during disease progression enhances viral replication. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2019 Feb;35(2):185-190. doi:10.1089/AID.2018.0129.
- Van Den Heuvel A, Smet H, Prat I, Sands A, Urassa W, Fransen K, Crucitti T. Laboratory evaluation of four HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests. BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Jan 3;19(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12879-018-3567-x.
Publications in 2018
- Dessilly G, Goeminne L, Vandenbroucke AT, Dufrasne FE, Martin A, Kabamba-Mukadi B. First evaluation of the Next-Generation Sequencing platform for the detection of HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in Belgium. PLoS One. 2018 Dec 31;13(12):e0209561. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209561.
- Mortier V, Vancoillie L, Dauwe K, Staelens D, Demecheleer E, Schauvliege M, Dinakis S, Van Maerken T, Dessilly G, Ruelle J, Verhofstede C. Meticulous plasma isolation is essential to avoid false low-level viraemia in Roche Cobas HIV-1 viral load assays. Antivir Ther. 2018;23(3):277-281. doi: 10.3851/IMP3203.
- Mortier V, Demecheleer E, Staelens D, Schauvliege M, Dauwe K, Dinakis S, Hebberecht L, Vancoillie L, Verhofstede C. Quantification of total HIV-1 DNA in buffy coat cells, feasibility and potential added value for clinical follow-up of HIV-1 infected patients on ART. J Clin Virol. 2018 Sep;106:58-63. doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2018.07.008.
- Madlala P, Van de Velde P, Van Remoortel B, Vets S, Van Wijngaerden E, Van Laethem K, Gijsbers R, Schrijvers R, Debyser Z. Analysis of ex vivo HIV-1 infection in a controller-discordant couple. J Virus Erad. 2018 Jul 1;4(3):170-173.
- Verhofstede C, Dauwe K, Fransen K, Van Laethem K, Van den Wijngaert S, Ruelle J, Delforge ML, Vancutsem E, Vaira D, Stoffels K, Ribas SG, Dessilly G, Debaisieux L, Pierard D, Van Ranst M, Hayette MP, Deblonde J, Sasse A, Van Beckhoven D, Mortier V. Phylogenetic analysis of the Belgian HIV-1 epidemic reveals that local transmission is almost exclusively driven by men having sex with men despite presence of large African migrant communities. Infect Genet Evol. 2018 Jul;61:36-44. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2018.03.002.
- Darcis G, Lambert I, Sauvage AS, Frippiat F, Meuris C, Uurlings F, Lecomte M, Léonard P, Giot JB, Fombellida K, Vaira D, Moutschen M. Factors associated with late presentation for HIV care in a single Belgian reference center: 2006-2017. Sci Rep. 2018 Jun 5;8(1):8594. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-26852-0.
- Wymant C, Blanquart F, Golubchik T, Gall A, Bakker M, Bezemer D, Croucher NJ, Hall M, Hillebregt M, Ong SH, Ratmann O, Albert J, Bannert N, Fellay J, Fransen K, Gourlay A, Grabowski MK, Gunsenheimer-Bartmeyer B, Günthard HF, Kivelä P, Kouyos R, Laeyendecker O, Liitsola K, Meyer L, Porter K, Ristola M, van Sighem A, Berkhout B, Cornelissen M, Kellam P, Reiss P, Fraser C; BEEHIVE Collaboration. Easy and accurate reconstruction of whole HIV genomes from short-read sequence data with shiver. Virus Evol. 2018 May 18;4(1):vey007. doi:10.1093/ve/vey007.
- Hebberecht L, Vancoillie L, Schauvliege M, Staelens D, Dauwe K, Mortier V, Verhofstede C. Frequency of occurrence of HIV-1 dual infection in a Belgian MSM population. PLoS One. 2018 Apr 6;13(4):e0195679. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0195679.
- Platteau T, van Lankveld J, Apers L, Fransen K, Rockstroh J, Florence E. HIV testing for key populations in Europe: A decade of technological innovation and patient empowerment complement the role of health care professionals. HIV Med. 2018 Feb;19 Suppl 1:71-76. doi: 10.1111/hiv.12601.