Saliva test for HIV accurate,says study

A Saliva test used to diagnose HIV is comparable in accuracy to the traditional blood test,says a new study led by Indian origin medical scientist Dr Nitika Pant Pai.

A Saliva test used to diagnose HIV is comparable in accuracy to the traditional blood test,says a new study led by Indian origin medical scientist Dr Nitika Pant Pai. An assistant professor of medicine at McGill University Health Centre,Canada,she led the study published in this weeks issue of The Lancet and says it has major implications for countries that wish to adopt self testing strategies for HIV.

With an increased focus on prevention strategies aimed at curbing the HIV epidemic,screening for the virus has again taken centrestage. Our aim was to establish whether a convenient and non-invasive HIV test that uses oral fluid was accurate by comparison with the same test with blood-based specimens,Pai told The Indian Express from Canada.

The meta-analysis,which compared studies worldwide,showed that the saliva HIV test OraQuick HIV1/2 had the same accuracy as the blood test for high-risk populations. Although previous studies have shown that the oral fluid-based OraQuick HIV1/2 test has great promise,ours is the first to evaluate its potential at a global level. Pai and her colleagues analysed and synthesised real-life field research data from five worldwide databases. Their findings showed the saliva test is 99 per cent accurate for HIV in high risk populations,and about 97 per cent in low risk populations.

OraQuick is also being considered for potential use as an over-the-counter test in the US and in several sub-Saharan countries. This move might revolutionise HIV testing by offering a proactive option to people who,because of stigma,do not wish to attend public health centres. Hopefully,offering a confidential testing option will bring an end to the stigma associated with HIV testing,says Pai.

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