CDC will spend $2.3 million on rapid HIV tests

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that it will soon spend $2.3 million to purchase OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Tests to distribute to state health departments and public-health clinics around the country, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The tests, made by OraSure Technologies, can detect the presence of HIV antibodies in about 20 minutes, allowing outreach workers to administer the tests and give results in just minutes, instead of the wait of several days needed for results from other HIV antibody tests. The rapid test kits can also be used by outreach workers at mobile testing sites, allowing more testing of at-risk individuals in areas with high HIV prevalence rates. The CDC spent $4 million on the rapid test kits in 2004.