14 DAY TRIAL // HIV testing implies a blood-based analysis.
But a new, easy to use, and quick one could replace it.
A research team led by Dr. Nitika Pai, a postdoctoral fellow at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), tested 450 individuals for HIV infection at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Sevagram India with the oral fluid-based OraQuick HIV1/2 test.
32 % were found to be HIV positive and the method proved to be 100 % accurate and the patients' preferred choice.
The team compared the diagnostic accuracy of the OraQuick test from two samples, one got from oral fluid (saliva) and the other from a blood-based finger stick, with the classical blood tests. The oral fluid test presented a 100 % accuracy compared to the finger-stick blood test, with one false positive (99.7 % specificity).
For the oral test, sample collecting posed little discomfort, but in 66 % of the cases, finger testing produced discomfort.
The oral OraQuick test has been already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but some previous researches had pointed a weaker power and the research made in India came with a more precise answer. "Based on our findings, the oral test is the preferred choice for HIV field testing by rural Indians," said Dr. Pai, a physician epidemiologist. "The other advantages are that results are available within 40 minutes compared to the standard blood test, which takes up to two weeks. This test can also be performed by health workers with minimal training, eliminating the need for specialist laboratory technicians."
"Rapid point of care HIV testing is a very important component of HIV control initiatives and programs. In particular, non-invasive, simple, accurate oral fluid-based, rapid tests have the potential to make a big impact on HIV screening. They open the door to the possibility of home-based HIV testing," she said.