Rapid and available.A test that takes only 20 minutes to detect HIV antibodies HIV antibody A self antibody specifically directed against one or more proteins or antigens on the surface of HIV, which may be minimally protective against HIV in saliva or blood from a finger stick has received U.S. government approval for use in doctors' offices and HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. counseling centers. (1) Although OraQuick Rapid HIV-1/2 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ) last March, its use has been permitted only in government-certified laboratories; under the terms of an FDA waiver granted in June, the test will soon be available in roughly 180,000 sites. The FDA's decision to permit wider use of the product came on the heels of its approval of the test for detecting the virus in saliva, rather than just in blood samples. Public health officials believe that many HIV-infected individuals fat to get tested because they fear needles, and an estimated 8,000 people who undergo testing at public clinics do not return to the clinic to learn their test results. The new test's noninvasive nature and rapid results could help lower the number of individuals who are unaware that they are infected with HIV. (1.) McNeil DG, Jr., Quick HIV test HIV test Various tests have been used to detect HIV and production of antibodies thereto; some HTs shown below are no longer actively used, but are listed for completeness and context. See HIV, Immunoblot. is more widely available, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times, June 26, 2004, <http://www. nytimes.com/2004/06/26/national/ 26brfs.html>, accessed July 2, 2004. |
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