New rapid HIV test produces results in 10 minutes

Hercules, Calif.-based Bio-Rad Laboratories announced it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a rapid test for detecting HIV antibodies. Bio-Rad says the single-use test kit will be available in the United States this month and is the first approved by the FDA that distinguishes between the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses. HIV-1 is the more common type of the virus. The company says the Multispot HIV-1/HIV-2 Rapid Test can be used on both fresh and frozen serum and plasma samples and produces results in about 10 minutes. OraSure Technologies makes a rapid saliva-based test for HIV that gives results in 20 minutes. (AP)