Scared of HIV Testing? Can't Wait for Your Results? There may be hope! (But, alas, this test only detects antibodies to HIV, not the virus itself, so you'll still have to wait for antibodies to develop after your exposure to get correct results!)
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New 20-Minute HIV Test Announced
Reported by Gay.com and PlanetOut.com Network
Abbott Laboratories and OraSure Technologies Inc. jointly announced a new HIV test.
OraSure's OraQuick device can detect the presence of HIV-Type 1 antibodies within 20 minutes, according to the Associated Press. The common laboratory process, by contrast, takes two weeks.
The Beaverton, Ore.-based company applied for approval from the Food and Drug Administration in June 2001, and the FDA said it was approvable last month, provided minor conditions are met.
OraSure expects to market the product later this year.
The agreement with Abbott settles an earlier patent dispute and makes Abbott a co-exclusive distributor of OraQuick in the United States. Based in Abbot, Ill., the company will focus on marketing the test to hospitals and doctors' labs.
OraSure's distribution strategy will target the public health and criminal justice markets, reports Reuters.
Posted June 19, 2002
My thanks to the Brevard County AIDS Coalition for Sharing This Article!
An Oral Swab Test That May Currently Be Available:
HIV-1 Western Blot Kit from Epitope, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon!