NEW YORK TIMES -- Nov 27 -- A rapid at-home H.I.V. test could be available on pharmacy shelves within the next year or so. Encouraged by a federal drug advisory committee earlier this month, OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem, PA, is expected to apply to the FDA soon for permission to start selling its H.I.V. test over the counter. Now it's available only in clinics. Taking the test involves a simple swab of the gums. Results appear within 20 minutes. And if the results are negative, certain inhibitions may disappear. Ken Deckinger, co-founder and chief executive of the dating service HurryDate, said that an easily available AIDS test could quickly reassure a dater of a prospective partner's health. An H.I.V. infection will take anywhere from two weeks to three months to become detectable, so the test can offer no assurances about a partner's most recent sexual history - or fidelity. Last year 38,685 more Americans were found to be infected with H.I.V. At least 250,000 Americans carry the virus for years without knowing it. Getting this quarter-million people to get screened could be the key to reducing the epidemic's toll in the U.S. FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES
Mark Brooks: And my next action, I am calling Orasure to find the person you can talk to about advertising Orasure on your site. ...220 E.1st St, Bethlehem, PA. www.orasure.com. 610-882-1820. Orasure had sales of $54 million in 2004 with 194 employees. Ron Picho is VP Marketing.
