January 25th 2012
Oral HIV test almost as accurate as blood test
New findings that a saliva-based HIV test is only 2 percent less accurate than blood tests could make a case for more widespread self-testing around the world.
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal report in this week’s issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases that field research data from five worldwide databases show that in high-risk populations, the saliva test (approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004) is 98.0 percent accurate, compared to a blood test’s 99.68 percent accuracy.
The painless and noninvasive OraQuick HIV-1/2 saliva test, which yields results in just 20 minutes, has been shown to have great promise across several previous studies, but McGill medical scientist Nitika Pant Pai says this is the first study to evaluate its global potential.
“Getting people to show up for HIV testing at public clinics has been difficult because of visibility, stigma, lack of privacy, and discrimination,” Dr.
