You’re afraid of needles, but you want to test for the virus that causes AIDS?
A new HIV testing vehicle is different from past testing techniques: The test
sample is taken from the mouth, not the bloodstream. Called OraSure, this
SmithKline Beecham product is increasingly in use in medical settings, street
and bar outreach testing, and other locations where blood collection would be
difficult, unsafe, or needlessly expensive.
Hearing about an oral test, many folks react, “But I thought you couldn’t
catch HIV from saliva.” That’s right, you can’t! The test is not for the virus
itself. All HIV screening is done for antibodies, the chemical soldiers which
the body makes to fight infection. The test sample is taken orally, but it
isn’t collecting saliva. Although antibodies can be found in saliva, this
testing sample is collecting antibodies absorbed through the tissue of the
cheek and gum.
A special large, flat, cotton swab is placed between the cheek and gum for a
couple of minutes. If the person is infected, the treated cotton absorbs HIV
antibodies through the tissue in a fluid called mucosal transudate. This
sample is much stronger than one taken from saliva and doesn’t have the
impurities potentially found in saliva. The swab is then placed in a plastic
collection tube and sent to a laboratory for testing.
The test is 99.97% accurate in clinical trials. The lab does an ELISA,
confirmed if necessary with a Western Blot, just as if the sample were blood.
Results are returned to the testing site within a few days and given to the
person being tested. It is not a do-it-yourself-at-home test kit!
There are some great advantages to an oral test. No needles, no blood! No
excuse for not being tested! It can be administered by trained non-medical
personnel, and it doesn’t have to be refrigerated.
So far its use is limited but growing, so you might not find it employed at
your private physician’s office yet. But it is being used increasingly by
public “alternative test sites” and should be widely available at doctors’
offices soon.
–Sandy Bartlett
Public Education/Information Coordinator
ASA Info Line: 458-AIDS
This article appears in May 23 • 1997 and May 23 • 1997 (Cover).