Find out more about the BRASS Anytime Testing Program by clicking
the OraQuick picture below. Get tested at a time and location that is best for you (24/7/365). For more information
about the "Over-the-Counter" test, sign the guestbook below or call the BRASS Ascension / After Hours Call Center at
225-747-6279.
On July 12, 2012, our CEO appeared on Channel 9 to discuss
the pros/cons of the new "Over-the-Counter" Rapid HIV Test. As an effort to help our community fully understand
the impact of the approved "Over-the-Counter" Rapid HIV Test, Baton Rouge AIDS Society is serving as a local call
center and resource center for the Baton Rouge and surrounding area. If you have any questions about the the "Over-the-Counter"
Rapid HIV Test, please call us at 225-923-AIDS (2437). Also, you may
enter your question in our guestbook below and the agency will list all questions and answers on our website for other
citizens to review some of the concerns and solutions to using the "Over-the-Counter" Rapid HIV Test. If you
would not like your name used, please indicate it as you provide your information in the guestbook. At Baton Rouge
AIDS Society, you will receive 34 Years of testing experience from certified counselors. Remember, "Get Tested,
Get Your Results, and Get on With Your Life!"
July 3rd, 2012 02:02
PM ET
The first ever over-the-counter rapid HIV test has been approved
by the Food and Drug Administration.
Users of the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test swab their upper and lower gums with the included test pad device and place it into a vial of solution. Much
like a pregnancy test, one line shows up if the test is negative, two lines means a positive test. Test results take about
20 minutes.
A positive reading does not mean a definite
human immunodeficiency virus, but that additional testing should be scheduled with a health professional. However, the FDA
also cautions that a negative test result "does not mean that an individual is definitely not infected with HIV, particularly
when exposure may have been within the previous three months."
The FDA approved another in-home test in 1996, however those samples needed to sent away to a lab for results.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 1.2 million
people in the United States are currently living with HIV, but about one in five don't know they're infected.
"Knowing your status is an important factor in the effort to
prevent the spread of HIV," said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
"The availability of a home-use HIV test kit provides another option for individuals to get tested so that they can seek
medical care, if appropriate."
In clinical trials
the OraQuick performed at 99.98% for test specificity–the percentage of results that will be negative when HIV is not
present. This means that one false positive would be expected out of every 5,000 test results in uninfected individuals. A
version of this test has been used by trained technicians in clinical settings since 2004.
OraSure Technologies, the manufacturer of the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test will have a consumer
support center that is available via phone and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center will provide users
with information about HIV/AIDS, the proper method for administering the test and guidance on what to do once results have
been obtained.
Douglas Michels, President and Chief
Executive Officer of OraSure says the approval represents a major breakthrough in HIV testing. "For the first time ever,
individuals will have access to an in-home oral test that will empower them to learn their HIV status in the comfort of their
home and obtain referral to care if needed. This new in-home rapid test – the same test doctors have used for years
– will help individuals at risk for HIV who otherwise may not test in a professional or clinical setting."
Orasure expects the kit to be available in stores and online in
early October. The professional version of the kit sells in clinics for $17.50 but Michels believes the home kit will cost
a little more. He says the price will be set by retailers. More than 30,000 stores will carry the test when it launches, he
adds.
