First legally approved HIV self-testing kit launches in the UK

The first legally approved self-testing HIV kit allowing users to get a result in 15 minutes has launched in the UK.

It uses a small amount of blood from a finger prick sample and has a 99.7 per cent accuracy rate.

The kit, known as the BioSURE HIV Self Test, works by detecting antibodies from the blood sample without the need for a lab to get results.

Experts warn any positive tests must be confirmed at a clinic.

An estimated 26,000 people in the UK have HIV but are unaware of it, making them unknowingly responsible for transmitting the disease.

Biosure founder, Brigette Bard, said it is a significant step to normalising HIV testing and the fact it is only available online will encourage people to use it.

"Knowing your HIV status is critical and the launch of this product will empower people to discreetly test themselves when it is convenient to them and in a place where they feel comfortable," she said.

The only alternative currently available is "home sampling", which involves a person collecting a blood sample at home - which she said is 160 times larger than the sample required for a self test - and sending it by post to a laboratory. They are then informed of their result by text or by phone five days later.

Dr Michael Brady of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "Rates of undiagnosed HIV and late diagnoses remain unacceptably high in the UK and continue to contribute to unnecessary illness and onward transmission of the virus," he said.