The present invention relates to a method for detecting and/or quantifying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) specific antibodies in a sample of a subject comprising the step of determining the presence and/or amount of antibodies binding to a) a peptide consisting of the amino acid sequence AIVCTRPNNNTRKSIRIGPGQVFYT (SEQ. ID No. 1), or b) a homolog having at least 70% identity with a peptide of a), or c) a fragment of a peptide of a) or b) consisting of 15 to 24 amino acid residues in said sample.