| If the panel's recommendation is taken up by the Food and Drug Administration, OraQuick would become the first instant HIV test available over the counter in America. Using a mouth swab to detect the presence of antibodies, it delivers a result in just 20 minutes. In home trials, the product proved 93% accurate, compared with 99% accuracy when similar tests were conducted by medical professionals. Supporters say the kit would advance the fight against HIV Aids by encouraging more people to test for the virus in the privacy of their own homes. Currently, almost a quarter of a million Americans are believed to be HIV positive without realising it. That's roughly a fifth of all infections. Researchers estimate that, each year, the new test would identify an additional 45,000 carriers of the virus and avert 4,000 new transmissions. But the panel also advised that the packaging of OraQuick should carry warnings about the variable accuracy of home-testing, and a toll-free phone number offering counselling to those testing positive. There are already other home tests on the US market. But they require a blood test which was then be sent to a laboratory for analysis. Last week, another FDA panel recommended for the first time a drug to protect healthy people from contracting HIV. |
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