In-Home HIV Test - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first do-it-yourself HIV test on Tuesday.

That means people could get their test results in the privacy of their own home.

The test, called OraQuick(R) In-Home HIV Test, involves swabbing the gums, placing the swab into a vial, and then seeing the results within 20 minutes.

The test looks for signs of HIV in oral fluid.

It is already used at hospitals and doctors' offices.

The maker, Orasure said, it expects that the OraQuick test will become available in October in retail outlets nationwide, as well as online.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 1.2 million Americans carry the AIDS virus, but about one in five is unaware that they are infected and can pass HIV on to others.