Pulse Radio network is reporting that a panel of experts yesterday (May 15th) urged the Food and Drug Administration to approve a home test would allow people to test themselves for the HIV virus that causes AIDS. The Blood Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously that the OraQuick In-Home Test was safe and effective and that any benefits outweighed the potential risks. The FDA usually follows the advice of the expert panel, although it doesn’t have to. The test, which was approved by the FDA in 2004 for use by health professionals, requires only a swab around the outer gum area and results come back in about 20 minutes. According to company data, positive results — which should be confirmed by a blood test — had a 93 percent accuracy rate in testing, while negative results were accurate 99.8 percent of the time.
