People in Canada have a new, less invasive way to test for HIV at home, following Health Canada's approval of an oral self-test.
U.S.-based OraSure Technologies said Tuesday its OraQuick HIV self-test has been greenlit for sale, making it the first of its kind approved in Canada.
The test uses a swab of saliva to check for the virus, and can be done at home, giving results in as little as 20 minutes, according to OraSure.
Dr. Sean Rourke, a neuropsychologist at St. Michael’s, says he hopes these simple and more portable tests might help reach some of the estimated 7,000 Canadians who have HIV but don’t know it.
“These are people that don't traditionally come into our health-care system,” he said. “You need new ways to reach them, and [this test is] going to meet them where they are.”
Read the full story at CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/oral-hiv-test-approved-oraquick-9.7082612
