New York Times
  Editorial

AIDS Testing at Home
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/opinion/19sat3.html

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  Published: Saturday, November 19, 2005

  Rapid AIDS tests that yield results in 20 minutes have
  revolutionized outreach counseling and greatly improved
  efforts aimed at slowing the spread of infection.

  With the older test, which required two weeks, about a third
  of the people tested at AIDS clinics never returned to pick up
  their results.

  Those who never learned that they had tested positive most
  likely went on to infect others through unprotected sex or by
  sharing needles during intravenous drug use.

  Despite widely available testing, about a quarter of the
  Americans who are infected with H.I.V. still don't know it.

  That will no doubt change when the
  Food and Drug Administration approves a
  quick over-the-counter AIDS test for home use.

  No company has yet filed for approval of such a test.

  But exploratory hearings conducted recently by the
  F.D.A. suggest that such a request may be filed soon.

  Some AIDS outreach workers are wary.

  They believe that people who test positive should hear the
  news from counselors, who can cushion the shock, direct them
  to medical care and explain the precautions that are needed to
  avoid infecting others.

  That would clearly be ideal.

  But it has long been clear that many people who suspect that
  they have been infected do not feel comfortable walking into
  AIDS clinics - or even confiding in family doctors.

  An over-the-counter AIDS test is the ideal tool for reaching
  them, as well as large numbers of others who don't know they
  are infected.

  The F.D.A. must naturally make sure that any proposed products
  are reliable and appropriate for use by untrained people.

  But once that's clear, the agency should swiftly
  certify a home-use test.

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  New York Times
  Editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/opinion/19sat3.html