Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International; Wednesday June 24 2:19 PM EDT
PPNYC said there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of people who took the noninvasive test in a pilot program.
The use of the OraSure method also meant health-care workers wouldn't run the risk of exposing themselves to an infected needle. PPNYC described OraSure as a safe, simple and painless method that is done orally and does not involve blood or needles.
The test uses a small cotton fiber pad attached to a thin, straw-like plastic stick that is placed in the mouth between the cheek and the lower gum and held in place for two minutes.
The specially treated pad draws out a substance, which contains a rich supply of HIV antibodies in infected individuals.
PPNYC began offering OraSure earlier this year on a limited trial basis through Project Street Beat, a 10-year-old outreach prevention program that uses two vans and one mobile medical unit to travel into communities throughout Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens where there is a high risk of HIV infection.
Street Beat workers provide contraceptives, counseling and testing for sexually transmitted infections to prostitutes, runaways and drug users living and working on the street.
PPNYC President Alexander Sanger said OraSure has been enormously popular with hard-to-reach people who often do not receive any health care.
Sanger added: "Since we've been able to offer patients the option of a faster, easier HIV test, the numbers of individuals willing to be tested has skyrocketed."
He says the OraSure test was 99.9 percent accurate.
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