An HIV test that delivers results in one minute is available in a Davie Street clinic that is funded by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
The INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2 Rapid Antibody Test has been administered at the Health Initiative For Men (HIM) Sexual Health Centre since the clinic opened in September.
HIM clinic coordinator Hans Bosgoed said the goal is to improve HIV testing among gay men.
"You walk in, do the test, and you walk out and you know the results," he said.
Bosgoed said many people do not want to wait for their results from a conventional HIV test and rapid testing is a convenient alternative.
The clinic offers pre- and post-test counselling by nurses from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. If a test is positive, Bosgoed said, the clinic offers a referral list of health-care professionals.
Wayne Robert, HIM's interim executive director, said men who come to the clinic for testing often bring a companion for moral support. Small groups are common and men who have English as a second language have brought translators.
The INSTI test is developed and manufactured by bioLytical Laboratories in Richmond.
It is designed to detect antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2 in 60 seconds, said Rick Galli, chief technical officer at bioLytical.
Galli said the INSTI test is "by far the fastest, accurate, quality-controlled and peer-reviewed [procedure] of its type in the world."
He said the test is getting favourable feedback, but is not widely used in the province.
"It's not a question of B.C. not appreciating the usefulness of this type of test, it's more a question of infrastructure and delivery."
He said the clinic is the only site in Vancouver offering rapid HIV testing, and that there is now no place where women can be tested. However, Jody Jollimore, HIM's project coordinator, said the clinic would not turn away women seeking the rapid test if they made a donation, but that the clinic is intended to serve gay men.
HIM purchases the test kits and clients are asked to make a donation rather than pay a set fee.
"It is a well-known technology that's been in use for probably 30 years -- not for HIV but for other applications -- and we just took that technology and adapted it to work with this particular test," Galli said.
A drop of blood is taken from a person's fingertip, diluted in a sample reagent and added to a membrane along with a colour developer and a clarifying solution. Results appear in one minute on the membrane. A positive test must be confirmed with a conventional blood test.
A clinical trial found an accuracy rate of 99.6 per cent, HIM says. However, it can take three months after possible infection has occurred before HIV can be detected.
"So a negative result in less than three months doesn't rule out the possibility of infection. However, a positive result is still highly conclusive once it's confirmed," Galli said.
The INSTI test was approved in Canada in October of 2005 and in Europe in March of 2006. Approval by the FDA in the U.S. is expected in 2010.
HIM's primary funder is Vancouver Coastal Health, which wants to increase HIV testing among gay men. The clinic says 31 per cent of gay men under the age of 30 have never been tested.
"The goal of the HIM testing clinic is increasing options and accessibility," Jollimore said. The clinic is open Monday, Thursday and Friday evenings, but not during the day.
HIM offers other services such as yoga, an ESL conversation group and a writing group.
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