Before ELISA, it was difficult to trace the spread of the virus. There was no practical way to detect it in people without signs, who represent the largest number of those infected. By mid-1988, about 65,000 cases of AIDS had been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). An estimated 325,000 people had AIDS-related complex (ARC), a term used to report a condition that includes (in addition to laboratory proof of immunodeficiency) swollen glands, recurrent fever, weight loss, or a combination of those signs. When persons with ARC create any of numerous opportunistic infections (or Kaposi's sarcoma), they are thought about to have developed AIDS.
By 1985, a simple, cheap blood check for detecting exposure to the AIDS virus had been developed and approved for use. Called ELISA (for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), the check detects antibodies produced by white blood cells in response to the presence of the virus. Developed primarily to screen potential blood donors, ELISA has also served as a versatile research tool, greatly facilitating analysis of the epidemic's path.
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