"Free 'rapid result' AIDS tests go on offer at drugstores"

Free 'rapid result' AIDS tests go on offer at drugstores in the hope that testing will become 'routine'

• An estimated 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV but fewer than 20 per cent know it
  
• Project is costing $1.2 million and will offer testing in 24 areas
• The oral tests are accurate 99 per cent of the time and take 20 minutes
• All Americans aged 13 to 64 are advised to get tested
• Each location will get enough $17.50 tests for 200-300 people in the pilot scheme

Groundbreaking: Made by OraSure Technologies Inc, the $17.50 test is the only government-approved rapid HIV test that uses saliva

Would you go to a drugstore for an AIDS test?

Health officials want to know, and they've set up a pilot program to find out.

The $1.2 million project will offer free rapid HIV tests at pharmacies and in-store clinics in 24 cities and rural communities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday.

Officials are hoping testing for the AIDS virus will become a routine service at drugstores like blood pressure checks and flu shots.

'By bringing HIV testing into pharmacies, we believe we can reach more people by making testing more accessible and reduce the stigma associated with HIV,' CDC's Dr. Kevin Fenton said in a statement. He oversees the agency's HIV prevention programs.

The tests are already available at seven places, and the CDC will soon pick 17 more locations.

The HIV test is a swab inside the mouth and takes about 20 minutes for a preliminary result. The test maker says it's correct 99 per cent of the time. 

If the test is positive, customers will be referred to a local health department or other health-care providers for a lab blood test to confirm the results, counseling and treatment.

When the project ends next summer, CDC officials will analyze what worked well and what didn't, said Paul Weidle, the epidemiologist who is heading up the project.

An estimated 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, but as many as 20 per cent of them don't know they carry the virus, according to the CDC. It can take a decade or more for an infection to cause symptoms and illness.

Pilot scheme: Walgreen's pharmacy manager Sarah Freedman stands in her store in Washington, which has put up prominent signs advertising the tests

Since 2006, the CDC has recommended that all Americans ages 13 to 64 get tested at least once, not just those considered at highest risk: gay men and intravenous drug users. 

But fewer than half of adults younger than 65 have been tested, according to the agency's most recent statistics.

  

It's important to know about infection not only for treating the condition but also to take steps to prevent spreading it to others. An HIV diagnosis used to be a death sentence, but medications now allow those infected to live longer and healthier lives.

On special occasions, health organizations have sent workers to some drugstores to offer HIV testing. This week, Walgreens — the nation's largest chain of pharmacies — is teaming with health departments and AIDS groups to offer free tests in 20 cities.

Studies show that People on HIV Meds that have had their vial loads (amount of Virus in the blood per mm of blood) drop to un-detectible have a percentage of about 97-98% chance of infecting a sex partner and this is without condoms.  You drop condoms to the equation and you do the math. Which emphasizes even more the need for someone to know know their status and stop infecting once they go on meds and follow procedure.  So you save the life of the newly diagnosed and the person(s) that this person might infect by just being on denial and not getting tested.