Hi gang! Have been around for several years--some good, some not so good--but have always enjoyed this thread and its varied cast of characters (from Keiko, to Peter C., to bmuller, and Caroline's "grunt"). I work for a large pharmaceutical company in NC, so if you have any industry questions shoot them my way and I'll see what I can do.
Found this on CNNfn newswire last night (7/30/98). Does anyone know if this is Trinity's test? Either way, it is good to see pressure and publicity building around HIV testing again. Maybe approval will hit at a point of high media attention.....We can only hope.
Glad to finally join in.
From CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Steve Salvatore
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Getting an HIV test is not easy. From major U.S. cities to small towns in developing nations, HIV tests are often too expensive or too much trouble.
Get one and you have to wait at least three days or as long as two weeks to get results back from the laboratory.
But the long wait could be over soon. A new test for the virus that causes AIDS takes only about 10 minutes to perform, from opening the package to getting the final results.
Dr. Sawuya Lubega of the Bronx/Lebanon Hospital conducted two clinical trials to determine the test's accuracy.
"In the first study of repository samples, we picked up all the infected samples," Lubega said. "So we had 100 percent sensitivity."
Although the second study missed a few patients, the rapid HIV test is said to be as accurate as today's standard tests in determining if someone is free of infection.
If the rapid test shows positive, doctors suggest testing again with conventional methods to be absolutely certain.
Experts say such a simple, efficient and speedy test should solve many problems.
"It certainly will help our compliance and our return ratio on results," Lubega said. "We won't have people getting their test done, then leaving the agency and thinking about it, then 72 hours later not coming back to get their results."
There are other benefits. If a health worker is stuck by a used needle, the new rapid test can confirm almost immediately if the person who used the needle is HIV positive.
But according to some world health experts, perhaps this test's greatest benefit is that it will allow for testing in very poor countries that can't afford expensive laboratories. |
