New HIV saliva test delivers results in just 20 minutes

Patients are now being tested for HIV from a mouth swab and can get their results in 20 minutes.

Barts and the London NHS Trust is the first organisation in the UK to run the test which is now being considered for use by other London NHS trusts. It has also generated interest from overseas healthcare organisations.

The swab test – using a special absorbent toothbrush placed in the gum line – picks up HIV antibody markers from oral fluid. It is referred to as a ‘point of care’ test and removes the need to wait a week for blood test results, reducing anxiety on behalf of patients and enabling clinicians to provide rapid access to further care and treatment where required.

The trial was part of a large scale research study which ended in March 2009, involving 1,500 patients based at the Royal London Hospital and the Sexual Health Clinic at Barts Hospital. The study compared the rapid oral fluid HIV test alongside laboratory-run HIV blood testing. Around 200 people at the Trust’s clinics have undergone the test since March and about 250 patients per month are expected to take it in future.

Researchers found that the oral fluid point of care test performed comparably to routine HIV serological testing, with 75% of those questioned stating they would prefer an oral fluid test rather than undergoing blood tests. 40% of respondents thought that availability of an oral fluid test would have encouraged them to test for HIV sooner.

Head of Sexual Health Advising at the Trust, Merle Symonds said:

“Patients much prefer this saliva test. The effect of the quick result reduces the anxiety of waiting tremendously. Whereas other clinics do a finger prick test, this oral test is quicker and very popular.

“Approximately a third of people in the UK who are HIV Positive are currently unaware of their condition. There are still very real problems due to people who are not testing until they have become unwell as a result of undiagnosed HIV infection. This means that treatment that is now widely available may not work as effectively.

“Making testing for HIV quicker and easier is a real step towards getting people to test sooner. As this test doesn’t require us to take blood or send samples to a laboratory, we can begin to look towards testing outside traditional clinical areas. We are already offering this test to people in some of our outreach services run in non-healthcare settings.”

The test is currently being offered to all people from areas of high HIV prevalence and to men who have sex with men, in addition to those who are sexually active with either group.

It is important to note that the test picks up HIV antibody markers, not the HIV virus itself, from the saliva sample taken from the gum line. So for example, it is not possible to contract the HIV virus from kissing.

This article was published on Thu 21 May 2009