HIV Home Test Kits: Heavy Use By At-Risk Groups
WESTPORT, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The home blood-collection HIV test kits, approved for use last year, are reaching the target population--those at high-risk for HIV infection, according to an article in the February issue of AIDS Alert.
"The response has been very broad-based," reports Arisa Cunningham, director of marketing, at Direct Access Diagnostics in New Brunswick NJ, the company that makes Confide. "We have had great response among African-Americans, Hispanics, and gay men.....a mirror of the groups hit hardest by the epidemic." The average age of the Confide user is between 18 and 34 years, she added.
These observations were echoed by a spokesperson from Home Access Health, another HIV test manufacturer. FDA requires that the companies that sell the HIV home tests gather demographic data and report them to the CDC.
The test manufacturers' telephone counselors also get "good marks," Dr. Bernard Branson of the CDC said. Also, individuals who send in the home test kits are for the most part using them correctly. One company estimates that about 99% blood samples received thus far were adequate for HIV testing.
Based on preliminary data, about 1% to 1.5% of the blood samples that are tested are HIV seropositive, which is a bit higher than anticipated, Dr. Branson said. According to estimates from publicly funded HIV test sites, which target high-risk populations, the overall HIV seroprevalence is about 2%.
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