OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-112 (OraSure) compares to conventional blood test for HIV

The OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-112 Antibody Test, from OraSure, is comparable in accuracy to the traditional blood test, according to a new study. The meta-analysis, which compared studies worldwide, showed that the OraQuick test had the same accuracy as the blood test for high-risk populations. The test sensitivity was slightly reduced for low risk populations. The findings showed that the saliva test is 99 percent accurate for HIV in high risk populations, and about 97 percent in low risk populations. See: "Head-to-head comparison of accuracy of a rapid point-of-care HIV test with oral versus whole-blood specimens: a systematic review and meta-analysis" by Nitika Pant Pai et al. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Early Online Publication, 24 January 2012 doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(11)70368-1