Opinion | AIDS concerns |
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I am writing about the article ‘Licking AIDS’ (MCV #385, Thursday May 22). MCV like other GLTBI media, is a powerful medium to supply and inform the community of news, programs, and health campaigns. However the article about this campaign raised a very serious issue about the collection method that was not addressed in the article. Along with others that I have spoken to, I have never heard of saliva swabs being used for HIV testing. Saliva swabs are usually associated with drug testing and DNA sample collection, not for HIV testing. Due to this unheard method of testing for HIV, I took the step of contacting the Burnet Institute and speaking to Dr Mark Stoové (the doctor heading this study). When asked about this method, he explained that this method is reliable for research purposes but not as accurate as traditional blood tests, therefore it is not licensed for diagnostic purposes in Australia. As this issue was not addressed in the article, I felt it created suspicion, confusion, and doubt about the authenticity of the study. The Burnet Institute has now issued further information addressing this and other issues relating to the study, available on their website (www.burnet.edu.au/suckit ). Adam, Collingwood
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