{"id":637,"date":"2016-06-06T20:00:15","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shimclinic.com\/blog\/?p=637"},"modified":"2016-11-17T22:47:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T14:47:54","slug":"france-hiv-self-test-kits-that-gives-results-in-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shimclinic.com\/blog\/france-hiv-self-test-kits-that-gives-results-in-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"France: HIV Self-test kits that gives results in minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Approximately 150,000 persons in France are infected with HIV<\/a> and among them, 30,000 do not even know that they are HIV-positive. According to the annual National Health Public Institute reports, about 6500 new cases of HIV are reported every year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, a significant number of these new cases are only detected in the final advanced stages of HIV lowering the quality of life. <\/span>This has prompted the development of HIV self-tests since 1994 to reduce the number of HIV infection cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the tests being highly sensitive and specific, their use by the general public is in very low numbers. Rapid HIV tests<\/a> using either oral fluid or blood samples have been in existence and available at health centers powered by AIDS associations since 2010 but only those who are trained on their use were allowed to use them. <\/span><\/p>\n

The French Ministry of Social Health and Women’s Rights in collaboration with various expert committees such as the National AIDS Council were for the idea of selling the HIV self-testing kits to the public after the US Food and Drugs Administration approved them in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blood Tests more Sensitive than Oral Tests<\/h2>\n

It is after these events that a group of researchers in 2013, namely Thierry Prazuck, Stephen Karon, Camelia Gubavu, Jerome Andre, Jean Marie Legall, Elisabeth Bouvet, Georges Kreplak, Jean Paul Teglas, and Gilles Pialoux affiliated to Department of Infectious Diseases, Centre Hospitalier R\u00e9gional, Orl\u00e9ans, HF Prevention, Trappes, Aides, H\u00f4pital Universitaire Bichat Claude Bernard, Centre de Biologie du Chemin Vert (CBCV), INSERM INED, U822, H\u00f4pital Kremlin Bic\u00eatre, Le Kremlin-Bic\u00eatre, and H\u00f4pital Tenon all in France conducted a study on the sensitivity of 5 HIV self-tests approved for home use. <\/span><\/p>\n

They concluded that blood tests were more sensitive than oral tests. With this information, the group of researchers performed two studies to evaluate the whole blood finger prick HIV self-tests. This follow-up study included assessing the practicability of the test as well as the ability of the participants in the study to interpret the test results.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study was done in 2 sections:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Evaluation of the participants’ ability to\u00a0perform the self-test correctly.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Evaluating the ability of the participants of the study to read and interpret the test results correctly.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Those who participated in the study had done so voluntarily and had been\u00a0recruited during a screening program run\u00a0by AIDES and HF-Prevention associated the Anonymous & Free Testing Centre who had the following characteristics:<\/span><\/p>\n