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Biometrika 1995 82(2):287-297; doi:10.1093/biomet/82.2.287
© 1995 by Biometrika Trust
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On the informativeness and accuracy of pooled testing in estimating prevalence of a rare disease: Application to HIV screening

XIN MING TU, EUGENE LITVAK and MARCELLO PAGANO

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, U.S.A.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts 02115, U.S.A.
Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts 02115, U.S.A.

When screening for a rare disease the large number of expected false positives makes it difficult to obtain a positive estimate of prevalence using current screening methodology. Pooled testing not only reduces the probability of this occurring, but also improves the accuracy of the estimator. These findings are illustrated by screening for the human immunodeficiency virus.

Key Words: Asymptotic efficiency • Human immunodeficiency virus • Maximum likelihood • Pooled testing • Prevalence


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