New Home Hiv Test Launches In Uk

A home test claiming it can reassure patients they are free of HIV has been launched in the UK.

The BBC reports that the public can send in a saliva sample to a laboratory, and, if negative for HIV, receive results via e-mail.

According to the BBC, home tests were banned because counseling was not on hand, but the ‘Dr Thom’ kit offers phone support if it does not give the all-clear.

But Avert, a leading HIV/Aids charity, told the BBC that patients worried they were infected should have an NHS test.

The “Dr. Thom test,” the first of its kind, which costs £25, looks for antibodies for HIV in the saliva, which suggests that the virus is present in the body.

When the test detects signs of an immune response to HIV in the saliva, the service offers a phone call from a ‘health professional’.

Patients are also advised to seek a formal diagnosis from a genito-urinary clinic.

The Dr. Thom service is being marketed at people who are concerned about HIV, but who do not want to visit a clinic to be tested.

Only people infected more than 14 weeks previously will test positive, slightly longer than the interval needed for a reliable blood test.

Annabel Kanabus, the director of Avert, said, “I would still recommend that if people are genuinely worried they may have HIV, they should go to a local NHS genito-urinary clinic to be tested,” reports All Headline News.

The blood test is more reliable than a saliva test, and it is free of charge.” “In addition, counseling is available on the spot, unlike this service,” she added, reports AHN.