Are oral HIV testing kits suitable for home use?

A move by medical diagnostics company OraSure to get an over-the-counter HIV test approved, has re-ignited the at-home HIV testing debate and raised concerns about how people might react to a positive result without the availability of immediate counselling.

Currently only sold to doctors and clinics, the test called OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV 1/2 Antibody Test, promises results within 20 minutes and can be used at home.

Advocates argue that home testing is easier, faster and more private. But 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 African mining giant Anglo American, however, was able to double the amount of employees tested last year by using OraQuick, as employees often refused the voluntary tests out of a fear of dirty needles, Newsweek reported.