This past May an FDA advisory panel unanimously
approved a test for HIV that people can perform at home. Relatively easy to
use, the at-home test could greatly increase the number of people being tested
for HIV, and thus enable treatment for many who would otherwise remain
undiagnosed. The test, called OraQuick and made by
Pennsylvania-based OraSure Technologies, works by detecting antibodies generated
as part of the body’s response to HIV-1 or HIV2 viruses. A testing stick
includes a flat pad at the end which the user uses to swab the upper and lower
gums. The pad is then placed in a developer vial for 20 to 40 minutes after
which, like a pregnancy test, one or two lines are formed: one line is negative,
two lines indicates the presence of antibodies to HIV-1 and/or HIV-2.
