Finger-stick HIV test is accurate and acceptable to women in Thailand.

2003 SEP 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A rapid, accurate whole-blood finger-stick test for HIV antibody has been developed that is acceptable among women in Northern Thailand.

According to recent research published in JAIDS - Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, "Although use of rapid HIV antibody tests of finger-stick blood specimens could expand voluntary counseling and testing in areas where fear of venipuncture and delays in learning test results are barriers, there is little information on performance and acceptability of these tests in Asia."

"We used the HemaStrip HIV-1/2 test (Saliva Diagnostic Systems, Vancouver, WA) in a prospective cohort study of HIV seroincidence among women in northern Thailand from 1998 to 1999," reported Alice Liu and collaborators involved in the Thailand Ministry of Public Health-U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Collaboration. "Nurses obtained whole-blood specimens by finger-stick testing and provided test results and counseling at each visit. Acceptability of the rapid test was assessed at the first six-month follow-up visit."

Liu and her colleagues found, "HIV-1 seroprevalence among the 804 women screened at enrollment was 3.1%. Positive rapid test results from 25 women were confirmed by enzyme immunoassay and Western blot analysis using serum obtained by venipuncture. Of the 741 women who returned for follow-up, ...