Health PEI offers first blood spot testing clinic for HIV and hepatitis C

Health PEIis exploring a new, more accessible way to test for infectious diseases such asHIV and hepatitis C.

The new technique is called driedblood spot testing,which requiresa finger prick andonly five drops of blood that are placed on a specialized card andcan be used to do multiple blood tests.

The tests were usedfor the first time on P.E.I. at the PEERS Alliance Linking Together event Saturday. Dr. Greg German, a medical microbiologist consulting in infectious diseases with the province, believed it was the first time the testing method hadbeen usedin Atlantic Canada.

He said driedblood spottestingis simple and non-invasive, which makes testing more accessible.

"It allows [one]to do it without going into the hospital to have someone take a major amount of blood, and people are pretty shy about that, and we'll be able to give great results," German said.

German said Health PEI has partnered with PEERS Alliance to offer pop-up hepatitis C clinics in the past, but this new method allows physicians to test for a number of other diseases at one time.

"Now we're offering, I think, an excellent service where we're going an extra step. We're providing HIV testing as well as hepatitisC as well assyphilis testing," he said.

Half the cost, more reliable

German said 20 people were tested at the Linking Together event, each test taking about five minutes. He said results will take twoto threeweeks to come back and will be provided throughthe Infectious Disease Clinic or over the phone, depending on the nature of the results and wishes of the individual.

The test is about half the cost of traditional testing methods and more reliable, German said.

"If there is a situation where one of the tests is what we call a screen positive, there's actually enough blood on these spots to do a confirmatory test,so we're going to have more reassuring results of whatever the situation is," he said.

He also said training to collect the blood is easy and doesn'thave to be done by a medical professional, though it is done under the supervision of a health-care worker.

Reduces stigma

Cybelle Rieber, executive director of PEERS Alliance, said she's thrilled to be able to offer this new method of testing.

She said the test is as simple as testing blood sugar levels and can help reduce stigma surrounding diseases such asHIV and hepatitis, encouragingmore people to get tested.

"It helps to normalize STI testing," she said. "Really it should be part of our ... regular health care, and having technologies that are available that are fast, simple and easy I think is just really important."

Rieber saidPEERS Alliancehopes to partner with Health PEI to offer more driedblood spot clinics in the future.

German said Health PEI will take a closer look attesting strategies, including dried blood spottesting, to determine whether it will make itmore widely available in the future.

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