A new at home HIV test, called OraQuick, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It uses a cheek swab and yields results in 20 to 40 minutes. Orasure plans to start selling the test in October, both online and through retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart.
The price has not been confirmed but its maker, OraSure Technologies, predicts the consumer version will cost less than $60 but more than the OraQuick ADVANCE® HIV 1/2 Antibody Test, the market leading rapid HIV test with millions of units sold to hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations and physician offices, which costs roughly $17.50.
The price increase will help pay for a toll-free call center to provide counseling and medical referrals to test users. ‘‘Each call-center operator is bilingual in English and Spanish; they’ve gone through 160 hours of training on HIV counseling and testing. So, they are highly trained professionals and they’ll be there to support the consumer,’’ says Douglas A. Michels, president and chief executive officer of OraSure.
Administration stresses that the test is not 100 percent accurate in identifying people with the virus. A trial conducted by test maker Orasure showed OraQuick detected HIV in those carrying the virus only 92 percent of the time, though it was 99.9 percent accurate in ruling out HIV in patients not carrying the virus.
According to the Orasure’s study, 41 percent of people who discovered they were HIV-positive using OraQuick had never been tested. The company estimates that 9,000 new HIV carriers would be identified for every 1 million people who use the test. It’s recommended that people who test negative should re-test after three months, because it can take several weeks for detectable antibodies to HIV to appear.
It is important to know that it may take up to six month after exposure to the HIV virus before you will test positive on an HIV antibody test, although most infected people will test positive within three months. In the majority of the infected population, HIV remains asymptomatic for years – although some infected people will get a fever and flu like symptoms around two weeks after exposure. –yvette caslin
