HIV tests with quicker results will soon become available for adults to take home.
The Food and Drug Administration approved OraQuick Rapid HIV test kit, a self-administered HIV test. The test will be available to people 17 and older by October.
The over-the-counter kit collects an oral fluid sample by swabbing the upper and lower gums, according to an FDA press release. Users can expect results within 20 to 40 minutes.
Gay Koehler-Sides, a senior human services program manager from the Alachua County Health Department, said she thinks the take-home test is important because it gives people who are afraid to go to their doctor or clinic the option to take the test in the privacy of their own homes.
“Even though we still offer anonymous testing in the state, there are still people who are afraid,” Koehler-Sides said.
As simple and easy as it sounds, the new test comes with its share of problems.
Studies on OraQuick found it has a 92 percent test sensitivity of detecting when HIV is present and positive, but has one false negative result out of every 12 tests and one false positive result in every 5,000 tests, according to the press release.
“It’s not as sensitive as other testing technology that we have available so we may have some people out there who think they’re not infected when they truly are,” Koehler-Sides said.
She also stressed the importance of understanding the “window period” when taking any HIV test.
Koehler-Sides said the antibodies formed by the virus take up to three months to develop and a person who is recently tested after having intercourse will not know if they are infected until the time period is over.
Samantha Evans, a sexual health educator with UF GatorWell Health Promotion Services, said she thinks it’s important people are educated on the three month “window period” and know that support services are available to people who might be distraught after learning their results at home.
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