FDA Panel Recommends Home HIV Test
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: May 16, 2012
An FDA panel has voted to recommend approval of the first over-the-counter HIV test .
The kit would allow people to test themselves at home for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in just 20 minutes. More than one million people in the United States are infected with HIV and nearly 233,000 don't know it.
The Oraquick In-Home Hiv Test requires you to swab your upper and lower gums . If you have HIV antibodies, a line appears on the test, along with a line that shows the test is working, similiar to a home pregnancy test.
Some experts hope having the home test available will slow the spread of new infections, but others worry that a person doesn't have counseling when testing at home.
The company that makes it says it's created a 24-hour customer support center that would help consumers with questions . A company study shows the test is 93% accurate identifying people who are HIV positive and 99% accurate at determining people without the virus.
It's up to the FDA to decide whether to accept its panels' recommendation.
The kit would allow people to test themselves at home for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in just 20 minutes. More than one million people in the United States are infected with HIV and nearly 233,000 don't know it.
The Oraquick In-Home Hiv Test requires you to swab your upper and lower gums . If you have HIV antibodies, a line appears on the test, along with a line that shows the test is working, similiar to a home pregnancy test.
Some experts hope having the home test available will slow the spread of new infections, but others worry that a person doesn't have counseling when testing at home.
The company that makes it says it's created a 24-hour customer support center that would help consumers with questions . A company study shows the test is 93% accurate identifying people who are HIV positive and 99% accurate at determining people without the virus.
It's up to the FDA to decide whether to accept its panels' recommendation.
