A NO-WAITING HIV TEST
If you have been putting off having an HIV test, now is a good time
to get checked out, since you can avoid the grueling wait for the
results. The FDA has just approved a 20-minute version of an HIV
test, called OraQuick, which will let individuals know right away if
they are infected. Before, HIV tests took two weeks to determine
whether someone was HIV-positive or -negative, and thousands of those
tested never called back to get the news. OraQuick requires a simple
needle prick and is almost 100% accurate. Experts say it should come
in handy in hospitals when women give birth; babies born to infected
mothers would be able to get immediate treatment that may spare them
from the disease.
Source: "FDA Approves 20-Minute HIV Test" [ http://www.cnn.com ],
CNN, November 7, 2002


*** This seems to be a very great thing for screening I hope they
confirm any positive results as they do today with a second more
costly test and that this never becomes an over the counter method of
testing like home pregnancy tests, as anyone who tests positive needs
counseling for depression and treatment.