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The number of people testing for HIV at the nonprofit agency AID Atlanta has more than doubled since it began offering the OraQuick rapid oral HIV test last October. Approved last year, the mouth swab test gives results in 20 minutes, compared to the older HIV testing method that required drawing blood and took up to two weeks for results. This April, AID Atlanta tested 364 clients using OraQuick, compared with just 136 people using the old test in April 2004.

"Because of the anxiety level and the anticipation of waiting a week, many people didn't want to get tested before, or they didn't show up for results," said Raphael Holloway, prevention programs manager at AID Atlanta. "We had a huge rate of no-shows before. Now we virtually have no no-shows."

According to Holloway, OraQuick's convenience, portability, and low-tech application make it more suitable for testing at health fairs, college campuses, and churches. Our Common Welfare, an advocacy health group in Decatur, is just starting to take the test to the homeless.

Editor's Note: from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution