HIV Self-Test Kits On Sale

Scotland needs to step up its efforts to prevent the spread of HIV, according to a charity.

HIV Scotland say around 25 percent of people in the country who carry the virus are unaware they have it, that equates to an estimated 1,200 people.

Self-testing kits go on sale today for the first time in the UK, the charity's CEO George Valiotis said the kits should help more people get tested for HIV, particularly those in rural areas or who would prefer not to go for free tests at their GP or local clinic.

He said: "Estimates suggest that as many as 25% of people living with HIV in Scotland don’t know they have the virus, so increasing testing is critical. Especially given that if people with HIV get on treatment quickly, they can become un-infectious and live long, active lives. 

“We want Scotland to step up all activity to prevent HIV, and to make sure those who do have HIV are diagnosed quickly. Self-test kits could be an important new development, but they aren’t a replacement for free NHS or community testing, which should be free, fast and confidential. There is lots more that can and should be done to remove barriers that stop people getting tested, and to prevent new cases of HIV: from eliminating stigmatising attitudes about HIV to increasing the availability and flexibility of free NHS testing services.”

The BioSure kits are the first kits to have received the European safety and quality ‘CE’ mark, following the change in the law last year to allow the sale and distribution of instant result self-test kits.

George Valiotis continued: “It’s important that anyone looking to buy one of these kits understands that while other kits might be available online, without a CE quality mark there’s no way to know they are safe or reliable. The instructions must be followed carefully to get an accurate result, and if the kit tells you you may have HIV, get the result confirmed with a follow up test at your GP or sexual health clinic."

This kind of kit is different to the ‘home-sampling’ self-test kits which have been in use across parts of the UK, as the new kits give an instant result to the individual using them, rather than having to send a sample away before receiving a result.

HIV attacks the immune system, and weakens a person's ability to fight infections and disease. It is most commonly caught by having sex without a condom, but can also be passed on by sharing infected needles and other injecting equipment, and from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.