Agenda

On 3 July 2012 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the marketing of a rapid diagnostic test (Oraquick® saliva test) for self-testing without medical supervision. Since October 2012, this test has been available over the counter at more than 30,000 points of sale in the United States and is also available on the Internet. Could such commercialisation help reduce the number of new infections in France? And what ethical issues might it raise? In general, the principle of self-testing is to allow anyone to perform and read the result of a screening test for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) themselves, without the intervention of anyone else, using equipment that is commercially available and directly accessible. Such a test can currently be performed on either a drop of blood taken from a fingertip or on saliva, and the result, interpreted by the person themselves, can be obtained rapidly in 20 to 30 minutes. This opinion was published at the press conference on Monday 25 March 2013.