The first self-testing kit for HIV has been manufactured and is the first of its kind in the world. By using a small amount of blood, procured by a pinprick to the finger, the approved kit from BioSURE is able to process the results with an accuracy of 99.7 percent in just 15 minutes and has the potential to help identify more than 25,000 individuals currently infected with the disease but are currently unaware.
BioSure founder Brigette Bard said that this is a significant step towards normalizing the testing for HIV, and added, “Knowing your HIV status is critical.”
Knowing your HIV status is critical and the launch of this product will empower people to discreetly test themselves when it is convenient to them and in a place where they feel comfortable.
Bard later added in another statement that the “process of gaining the CE mark for an HIV self-test is extremely rigorous.”
The process of gaining the CE mark for an HIV self-test is extremely rigorous and requires proof that an untrained user can perform the test and read the results with the same level of accuracy as a trained healthcare professional (…) However the BioSURE HIV self-test may not detect recent HIV infection as it can take up to three months for the level of antibodies to become detectable.
Positive test results need to be confirmed by a healthcare professional and those in high-risk groups are recommended to be tested every three months.
According to A report by the Daily Mail, the only alternative currently available is ‘home sampling’, which involves collecting a blood sample 160 times larger than that for the self-test and mailing it to a laboratory, with results given five days later.
A report made by the UK Mirror said that the test will initially only be sold on line through BioSURE’s dedicated website hivselftest.co.uk and through the NHS online shop freedoms-shop.com at a retail price of £29.95 ($45.63), including postage and packing.
The test will not be available in stores as the company believes that would negate the discreet and anonymous aspects of self testing.
In other HIV related news here at Immortal News, check out this article about a HIV vaccine that blocks all known HIV strains.
