The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is still an incurable disease that has taken thousands of lives. Now, the UK has released the very first legally-approved HIV self-testing kit on sale on Monday.
The self-test kit has an accuracy rate of 99.7% and the result will be seen within just 15 minutes. Called BioSure HIV Self-Test, it is a new way to help people know if they have HIV.
"Knowing your HIV status is critical and the launch of this product will empower people to discreetly test themselves when it is convenient to them and in a place where they feel comfortable," explained BioSure founder Brigette Bard as reported by CTV News.
The kit is a single-use, disposable device and needs only a single drop of blood from the finger. However, it can detect the presence of the virus after three months of infection, reports Times of India.
When HIV is diagnosed early, it reduces the chance and risk of passing the disease to other people. Furthermore, it can increase the rate of modern treatments to prevent it from progressing to the worse stages of the disease, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which can be fatal.
"Over 40 per cent of people living with HIV are diagnosed late, meaning they have been living with HIV for at least four years," said Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National Aids Trust (NAT).
"People diagnosed late are 11 times more likely to die in the first year after diagnosis," she added.
According to the World Health Organization, during the end of 2013, 11.7 million people had access to antiretroviral therapy in low and middle-income countries.
