The HIV self-testing kit that allows people to get results in about 20 minutes at home could soon be in every Ugandan home.
UG Christian News has learnt that government, through the Ministry of Health is considering introducing this self-test kit in the country with high hope that it will prompt citizens to establish their HIV/Aids status.
This revelation follows positive results obtained by government through research by School of Public Health and Mildmay Uganda. The study conducted in Entebbe Municipality, Mpigi and Nakaseke districts revealed that seven in 10 men who enrolled accepted to know their HIV status using the antibody self-test kits.
Dr. Joshua Musinguzi, the HIV/AIDS control programme manager in the ministry of health says that this HIV self-test home kit is a great innovation in slowing and fighting against the HIV pandemic infection.
How the oral HIV self-test kit works
Rather than a blood sample, this test detects antibodies uses an oral fluid sample, which is a fancy phrase for saliva.
To collect a specimen for this test, users are instructed to swab the upper and lower gums of her/his mouth.
Once that’s done, the collection swab needs to be placed in a vial that contains a developer solution where HIV antibodies from oral fluid are collected through the swab.
The kit after being inserted in the solutions will start to show lines.
‘If it shows one line that means you are negative if its shows two lines, it means that you are HIV positive but you need to do a confirmatory test in a health facility.’ Dr Joshua Musinguzi, who heads the Aids Control Programme of the Ministry of Health says.
This rapid test has 92 percent sensitivity and 99.8 percent specificity and tests for both HIV-1 and 2 strains.
World Wide, AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 45% since the peak in 2005. In 2015, 1.1 million people died from AIDS –related causes worldwide, compared to two million in 2005 according to the joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
By Paul Dennis.
