Newly approved AIDS test gives instantaneous
result
by Chelsea J. Carter
The Associated Press
ATLANTA - The government is recommending a new HIV test that yields results
instantly instead of a week later.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday the rapid test will
address a major drawback to the current method: Nearly 700,000 people a year never
return to find out their test results.
AIDS advocates said the new test means more people will get prompt education and
treatment.
"Most people either don't want to or are afraid to deal with it unless they become
sick," said Tony Braswell, executive director of AIDS Atlanta. "If you can tell
someone while they are sitting there, talking with a counselor, you could get a head
start with them. You know, tell them that their life is not over."
Only one rapid test has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use
in clinics in the United States. The test, manufactured by Murex of Norcross, takes
about 10 minutes to determine whether the virus is present. Several other tests are
awaiting FDA approval.
Both the new and the old tests look for antibodies in the blood. However, the
traditional, one-week test also looks for specific protein bands, which are considered
the absolute indicator of HIV.
About 8,000 people would initially receive false-positive results from the new test,
said Bernard Branson, an epidemiologist and the chief architect of the CDC's
recommendation. In contrast, the current one-week test is nearly 100 percent accurate.
"It's clearly a risk messing with people's psyche - telling them they are HIV-positive.
But you have to ask whether the benefit outweighs the risk," he said. "I think it could
be considered a public-health emergency to have 8,000 people with HIV walking
around and not knowing it."
The CDC estimated the new test would allow health officials to notify 8,000 more
infected people each year.
More than 2 million people are tested anonymously each year for the AIDS virus, but
a third of them never bother to check the results.
Copyright © 1998 The Seattle Times Company
Posted at 05:44 a.m. PST; Friday, March 27, 1998
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