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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • News Briefs
Rapid AIDS Test Approved

February 3, 2003

President Bush announced Friday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a rapid AIDS test that delivers results in about 20 minutes. The new test is necessary because every year an estimated 8,000 infected people are tested but do not return for their results a week later. The new test, made by OraSure Technologies Inc. and called OraQuick, will be available for use in more than 100,000 doctors' offices throughout the country. The test has a 99.6 percent accuracy rate and is simple to use, testing a drop of blood drawn from a finger stick. According to CDC estimates, one-quarter of approximately 900,000 HIV-positive people across the United States do not know they are infected, and learning their status will enable them to seek treatment.

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Excerpted from:
Washington Post
02.01.03; Reuters

See Also
More on HIV Testing


This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.


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