RCPA Warns of Errors with HIV Self-tests
Monday, 14 July, 2014
Following this week’s announcement by Health Minister, The Hon Peter Dutton, regarding the legalisation of HIV self-tests in Australia, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) calls for a cautious introduction of these tests and a comprehensive education campaign for potential users.
Although, the RCPA supports the national campaign to diagnose Australia’s currently undetected HIV cases, it cautions the use of HIV self-tests (home tests) and point of care tests (rapid tests) which are less accurate than laboratory tests.
Accurate, early detection reduces the risk of HIV transmission and improves the survival rate of those individuals infected with HIV. President of the RCPA, A/Prof Peter Stewart says, “People who receive a positive result on an HIV self-test will require a laboratory blood test to be taken, in order to confirm the result. Subsequently, immediate follow up, counselling and treatment by a healthcare team is essential. Equally, if an HIV self-test reveals a negative result, this may not mean that the person is free from HIV, as the test is known to produce a concerning rate of false negatives.”
“The College continues to have concerns regarding the inability of HIV self-tests and point of care tests to detect some cases of HIV infection.
"Findings reveal that saliva based self-tests are particularly prone to inaccuracies and fail to detect a significant number of individuals who have been diagnosed, and most cases of those with early HIV infection. Laboratory HIV tests are the most accurate method to diagnose these cases.”
The RCPA is also concerned regarding the quality standards of self-tests as all diagnostic tests should be subject to quality control and quality assurance.
“Australia has one of the highest quality, quickest turnaround and publicly funded laboratory-based HIV testing services in the world. Patients should think carefully about relying completely on self-testing, especially for such a serious diagnosis as HIV infection,” says A/Prof Stewart
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