Brummer-Korvenkontio H, Holmstrom P, Arpo L, Ovaska A, Liitsola K, Leinikki P, Salminen MO; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).
Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. WePeC6018.
National Public Heath Institution, Helsinki, Finland
Background: In a effort to affect injecting drug use (IDU) associated HIV epidemic a voluntary rapid HIV-testing was implemented to prison inmates and IDU's visiting needle exchange centers. Methods: All personnel working with rapid tests are trained with short lectures and laboratory work at the Finnish National Public Health Institute (NPHI) before starting the testing to ensure the quality of testing and counseling. In addition, NPHI organizes a quality assessment rounds for HIV serology twice a year for prisons and needle exhange centers and confirms by Western-blotting all positive rapid HIV-test (Determine HIV-1/2, Abbott) results from separately drawn venous blood. Results: During 1999 - 2003 more than 7000 samples were tested with the Determine HIV-1/2 (spesificity 99,9%, positive predictive value 89.5%). The HIV-antibody prevalence declined from 6,7% to 0,4% in IDU's visiting needle exchange centers and from 2,4% to 0,3% in prison inmates tested with rapid HIV-test. A short training period in NPHI was found to be important before testing was initiated. Acceptance of rapid tests among health care personnel in prisons and needle exchange centers was good. Inmates and IDU's prefer rapid testing to conventional testing. Conclusions: Rapid HIV-testing was well received in prisons and needle exchange centers. Pre- and post-test counseling was seen as an important part of the procedure. A reference laboratory giving training for testing, and maintaining quality control program is an useful part of a testing system using rapid HIV-tests.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Counseling
- Demography
- Finland
- HIV Antibodies
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Mass Screening
- Prevalence
- Prisoners
- Prisons
- education
Other ID:
UI: 102283944
From Meeting Abstracts