Twenty Minute HIV Test
by Tawny McCray
There are around 900,000 Americans living with HIV and of those a quarter of them don’t even know it. With last year’s approval of a new rapid HIV test, federal scientists are hoping that trend may be on its way out.
The OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test, approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 7, 2002, produces HIV results in 20-40 minutes. A small blood sample is taken by pricking a finger with a small, sharp object called a lance. A plastic stick is then dipped into the sample, staining red-purple in the presence of HIV.
Similar to a pregnancy test, a single line on the stick indicates no virus, while two lines mean there’s about a 99.6 percent chance the person has HIV-1.
Until a year ago, the standard HIV test, the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) or Elisa test, took up to two weeks to provide results. Because people had to make a second visit to learn their results, at least 8,000 people a year who tested positive for HIV (at public clinics) never returned to get the news.
Not only should the almost immediate results of OraQuick slash that number, but those facing emergencies can get immediate answers.
An article in USA Today stated, for example, women in labor who weren’t checked for HIV earlier in pregnancy could get tested in the delivery room. That would let newborns of infected mothers get anti-HIV medication immediately, in hopes of keeping them free of the virus.
Also, according to the article, doctors and nurses exposed to the blood of patients who might have HIV could learn right away if that person had put them at risk, so they’d know if they needed HIV-blocking medication.
Aside from those reasons, there are at least two other critical reasons for people to get tested for HIV. The first is, if you are infected, you can get treatment that may help you live longer. You can learn how to avoid passing the infection to your partners and protect yourself from other STD’s, such as syphilis. If you are not infected, you can learn how to stay negative.
People who should get tested are those who are currently or have ever had an STD, had many sex partners, shared needles to shoot drugs, shared needles for a piercing or tattoo, had sex with a man or a woman without a condom, are or have ever been pregnant (HIV positive women can pass HIV to their babies).
In September of this year, the FDA approved the OraQuick test for use with venipuncture whole blood specimens (blood drawn from the vein). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the expanded use will allow OraQuick testing on whole blood samples routinely drawn from patients by venipuncture.
It’s important to note that while the new rapid test is just as accurate as the Elisa test, doctors recommend that people who choose to do the OraQuick test should follow up their results with the standard test.
Currently, the only place in San Diego that offers the OraQuick test is the Health and Human Services, at 3028 5th Ave., in Downtown (phone number: (619) 296-2120). The tests are done every Tuesday beginning at 7:30 a.m. (cut off time is around 3:30 p.m., the clinic is open until 4 p.m.). There is no charge for the test.