New HIV Home Testing Kit Let's You Know Results in 15 Minutes
The first legally approved self-testing HIV kit allowing users to get a result in 15 minutes has launched in the United Kingdom, according to reports.
The kit retails for £29.95 (US$45.30) and is named as BioSure kit. It contains a small blood vial and the individual need to follow the given instructions to confirm whether he or she has been infected with HIV virus. The testing time is just 15 minutes.
The BioSure HIV Self Test is supposedly 99.7 percent accurate and is the only kit of its kind to score CE mark approval which means it has passed rigorous tests and is able to give a more accurate reading.
"Knowing your HIV status is critical and the launch of this product will empower people to discreetly test themselves when it is convenient to them and in a place where they feel comfortable," BioSure founder Brigette Bard explained, according to the Daily Mail.
"The availability of the UK's first home HIV testing kit is a really exciting development," said Dr. Michael Brady, sexual health and HIV consultant at London's Kings College Hospital.
"Rates of undiagnosed HIV and late diagnoses remain unacceptably high in the UK and continue to contribute to unnecessary illness and onward transmission of the virus."
However, BioSure recommends that if people are particularly concerned that they may have been exposed to HIV, they should go to see a healthcare professional who can perform a test only six weeks after the incident.
