Home Test Kit for HIV Gets FDA Approval

Mouth swab provides results in 30 minutes or so
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2012 4:30 PM CDT
Home Test Kit for HIV Gets FDA Approval
This undated photo provided by Orasure shows the OraQuick test.   (AP Photo/Orasure, Chuck Zovko)

A quick and easy HIV test that provides results at home in about a half-hour will soon be in stores. The FDA today approved OraSure's OraQuick test, in which a person swabs the inside of his mouth and then inserts the swab into a test tube, reports the Wall Street Journal. Federal health officials estimate 240,000 people have HIV without knowing it, and they hope the test will cut that figure, along with infections. One caveat: The home test isn't as accurate as one done in a clinic. (More HIV stories.)

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