The ELISA tests whether a patient has contracted HIV. The ELISA is said to be positive if it indicates that HIV is present in a blood sample, and the ELISA is said to be negative if it does not indicate that HIV is present in a blood sample. Instead of directly measuring the presence of HIV, the ELISA measures levels of antibodies in the blood that should be elevated if HIV is present. Because of variability in antibody levels among human patients, the ELISA does not always indicate the correct result.
As part of a training program, staff at a testing lab applied the ELISA to 500 blood samples known to contain HIV. The ELISA was positive for 489 of those blood samples and negative for the other 11 samples. As part of the same training program, the staff also applied the ELISA to 500 other blood samples known to not contain HIV. The ELISA was positive for 37 of those blood samples and negative for the other 463 samples.
When a blood sample yields a positive ELISA result, two more ELISAs are performed on the same blood sample. If at least one of the two additional ELISAs is positive, the blood sample is subjected to a more expensive and more accurate test to make a definitive determination of whether HIV is present in the sample. Repeated ELISAs on the same sample are generally assumed to be independent. Under the assumption of independence, what is the probability that a newnblood sample that comes into the lab will be subjected to the more expensive test if that sample doesnot contain HIV?