August 2002

“High-Speed” HIV Test Approved in China

The State Drug Administration in China has approved a new HIV test that can produce positive results in as little as three hours, compared to four to eight weeks for a standard antibody test. Unlike most standard tests, it detects the presence of HIV, not HIV antibodies. The test, a polymerase chain reaction, can detect HIV in the earliest stages of infection and can assess the severity of a person’s infection within a week. Li Fangfang, AIDS testing director at Shenzhen People’s Hospital, where the test was in clinical trials, said it will allow patients to “know early on exactly what they’re facing.” The manufacturer, Piji Bioen-gineering Company in Shenzhen, is selling the test wholesale for $11.90. Piji’s research manager, Huang Qianhua, said, “We believe that our testing method will have huge implications both for China and for other developing nations such as those in Africa and Southeast Asia struggling to afford the costs of realizing how serious their AIDS epidemics actually are.”