CDC scientists have developed multiple antigenic peptide immunoassays for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). HIV can be subdivided into two major types, HIV-1 and HIV-2, both of which are believed to have originated as result of zoonotic transmission. Humans are increasingly exposed to many different SIVs by wild primates. For example, human exposure to SIVs frequently occurs as a consequence of the bush meat hunting and butchering trade in Africa. Human exposure to SIVs may lead, or may have already led, to transmission of SIVs with potential for new virus induced immunodeficiency epidemics. Unfortunately, new cases of zoonotic virus transmission may go undetected because of the lack of SIV-specific tests. Thus, there is the potential to compromise the safety of the blood donor supply system and seed a new HIV-like epidemic. This invention addresses these problems by providing a way to test all primates for the many divergent lentivirus strains to identify primary infections and prevent secondary transmission.