FAULTY AIDS TEST KITS

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Health why faulty test kits for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were used by clinical laboratories and how these kits got into the market.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The faulty test kit for AIDS referred to by the Member is the Abbott IMx HIV-1/HIV-2 3rd Generation Plus Test manufactured by Abbott of USA for the screening of HIV infection.

Abbott test kits were approved for use in developed countries like UK, USA and Germany. The fault that was reported in April 1996 of this particular test kit of Abbotts was only detected after millions of tests had been carried out all over the world. According to the manufacturers, only 4 cases of false negatives out of 2.5 million tests shipped to customers worldwide were reported in certain overseas countries..

This test kit was never used in the Government and restructured hospitals and laboratories. In the private sector, only 11 clinical laboratories have used this since 1st October 1995. All laboratories have since stopped using them from 4th April 1996. The Ministry of Health has issued a press statement on this matter and has recommended that, as a precautionary measure, those who were tested in private clinics or laboratories should go back to the same clinic, laboratory or the referring doctor to check whether they require a retest. The Ministry is monitoring all the retests conducted. So far no false negative results have been found in the retests.