Pooled testing for HIV prevalence estimation: exploiting the dilution effect

We study pooled (or group) testing as a method for estimating the prevalence of HIV; rather than testing each sample individually, this method combines various samples into a pool and then tests the pool. Existing pooled testing procedures estimate the prevalence using dichotomous test outcomes. However, HIV test outcomes are inherently continuous, and their dichotomization may eliminate useful information. To overcome this problem, we develop a...