US approves home HIV test despite fears

The US has approved over-the-counter sales of HIV home-testing kits after years of controversy over fears that people who find they are HIV-positive without prior counselling might be unable to handle the information, Britain's Guardian newspaper has reported.

For almost 20 years, experts and activists have agonised over making available tests that would allow people to find out their HIV status in privacy but also in isolation.

South Africa's Medical Association recently lashed out against sales of testing kits at a local supermarket franchise, adding that self-diagnosis without proper counselling could be "disastrous", and possibly lead to the deliberate infection of unsuspecting partners.

However, the US Food and Drug Administration has decided that the usefulness of the kits in alerting people quickly and privately to their HIV status, so that they could avoid infecting others, outweighed any harm.