FDA Approves Rapid Oral HIV Test By Todd Zwillich WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) Mar 26 - Federal officials on Friday announced the approval of the first rapid oral test for HIV, which can give a result in as fast as 20 minutes. Officials said that the product could help to expand AIDS screening in the US and overseas, where hurdles to testing are thought to severely hinder intervention efforts............... Medscape

This oral Kit tests for antibodies to HIV-1 by scraping the insides of one's mouth. It is said to be 99.3%sensitive and 99.8% specific. This new test will omit the need for pricking one's finger for a blood sample. It may make the test more acceptable as a screening tool. Nevertheless if the test is positive, other blood tests need to be performed to comfirm one's HIV status.

It may be awhile before Malaysia gets its hands on this new kit. The Ministry of Health has an on going anonymous HIV screening programme aimed at encouraging the public, with risk factors, to test themselves. Unfortunately, this programme is still not well received. One possible cause is the reluctance of individuals to have contact with healthcare staff and their distrust with the system at hand. It is often seen especially by intravenous drug addicts as a "trap" set up by the Government. There also appears to be confusion among healthcare workers as to the procedure in the event one has a reactive test.

Indeed , anonymous means anonymous. One can come and go without the need to identify oneself whatever the result may be. It is hoped that by doing this, we can ascertain the severity of this HIV outbreak which is noticebly under-reported. There will be controversial opinions and conflicting ideas in this regard.

But to battle a formidable enemy, we need to size up its strengths in order to execute a successful assault. At this juncture, we appear to have lost some battles but the war is still ongoing and there is little choice but to fight till none is left standing.