The Federal Ministry of Health has said that Insti HIV ½, Insti Multiplex Dual HIV 1 /2 and Syphilis antibody rapid tests kits are the new first -line kit in the national HIV testing algorithm .
This was disclosed by the National Coordinator of the National AIDS , STI and Hepatitis Control Programme , Segilola Araoye , while giving a report of the laboratory evaluation of the tests kits in Abuja .
Araoye explained that the result of the evaluation showed that Insti HIV1 / 2 had specificity and sensitivity of 99 .7 % respectively while Insti multiplex HIV 1 / 2 Syphilis antibody has sensitivity and specificity of 100 per cent respectively .
According to him , “ The term specificity is the ability of a test to correctly exclude individuals who do not have a given disease or disorder while sensitivity is the ability of a test to correctly identify people who have a given disease or disorder . ”
Araoye noted that it was vital to conduct an accurate diagnosis of HIV early , using reliable tests and testing strategy . He added that this would aid the effectiveness of intervention for the control of the epidemic .
At the event , Chairman Technical Committee for Evaluation of HIV Testing Technologies , Manason Rubainu , said the test kits was in line with the requirements for first - line testing of HIV and syphilis.
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