Patients can now get their HIV test results within 20 minutes with the use of rapid test kits, which the Ministry of Health (MOH) has made available to all clinics.

Previously, most clinics had to send in the blood samples from patients to be tested in laboratories, which would take about a day.

There are two types of rapid test kits approved by the Health Sciences Authority for use here - one saliva-based and the other, blood sample-based. The test kits can be used to screen foreigners applying for employment passes, work permits and renewals.

Doctors are, however, not allowed to sell the kits over the counter. Also, a patient's blood samples must be sent to the laboratory for conventional HIV testing should the test kit result show a positive for HIV.

Under the Infectious Diseases Act, doctors are required to notify the health authorities of HIV-positive patients.
In 2006, 357 Singapore citizens and permanent residents were reported with HIV infection, bringing the total number of HIV-infected Singaporeans to 3,060 as of end-2006, according to the MOH.

Of the new cases last year, 78 per cent were detected in the course of HIV testing for some form of medical care. Just 13 per cent were detected through voluntary HIV screening.