NEW
YORK TIMES -- Nov 27 -- A rapid at-home H.I.V. test could be available
on pharmacy shelves within the next year or so. Encouraged by a federal
drug advisory committee earlier this month, OraSure Technologies in
Bethlehem, PA, is expected to apply to the FDA soon for permission to
start selling its H.I.V. test over the counter. Now it's available only
in clinics. Taking the test involves a simple swab of the gums. Results
appear within 20 minutes. And if the results are negative,
certain inhibitions may disappear. Ken Deckinger,
co-founder and chief executive of the dating service HurryDate,
said that an easily available AIDS test could quickly reassure a dater
of a prospective partner's health. An H.I.V. infection will take
anywhere from two weeks to three months to become detectable, so the
test can offer no assurances about a partner's most recent sexual
history - or fidelity. Last year 38,685 more Americans were found
to be infected with H.I.V. At least 250,000 Americans carry the
virus for years without knowing it. Getting this quarter-million
people to get screened could be the key to reducing the epidemic's toll
in the U.S. FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES

Mark Brooks:
And my next action, I am calling Orasure to find the person you can
talk to about advertising Orasure on your site. ...220 E.1st St,
Bethlehem, PA. www.orasure.com. 610-882-1820. Orasure had sales of $54 million in 2004 with 194 employees. Ron Picho is VP Marketing.