Health News
2005-12-20
Congress strips
funds for rapid HIV testing
Congress on
Friday stripped a provision from a Health and Human Services
funding bill that would have allotted $12 million to
Congress on
Friday stripped a provision from a Health and Human Services
funding bill that would have allotted $12 million to
purchase OraQuick rapid oral HIV tests in the wake of
reports of a high number of false-positive test
results from groups conducting HIV screening in Los
Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, The
[Allentown, Pa.] Morning Call reports. The
provision would have provided about one fifth of test maker
OraSure Technologies' annual revenue.
Congressional sources say the money was cut as part of
a larger $1 billion package of budget cuts, but the
loss of funding comes at a time when test maker OraSure
Technologies is being buffeted by questions about the
accuracy of its rapid oral HIV tests.
Health officials
in San Francisco say they are stopping use of oral rapid
HIV tests at many venues because of too many false-positive
results, and on the Thursday the Los Angeles Gay and
Lesbian Center, one of the largest providers of
HIV antibody testing in Los Angeles County, said it
would stop using the oral tests.
On
Friday, December 9, alone, OraSure Technologies stock
plunged 26%, and it has lost 39% of its
total value since. In a press release issued December
9, OraSure said the company is working with health
officials and government agencies to determine why some
localities are experiencing high numbers of
false-positive results with the oral tests.
(Advocate.com)
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