The HIV rapid test available in Malta at the GU Clinic is a fourth-generation test. It can reliably detect HIV as soon as 6 weeks after a person contract it.
It is important that people who may have been exposed to HIV wait until the window period ends before taking a test.
- The GU nurse will be conducting the test.
- You do not need to do an appointment to do the test.
Rapid tests are often referred to as point-of-care tests because rather than sending a blood sample to a laboratory, the result is available within 20 minutes of conducting the test. The rapid tests require a tiny sample of blood (the fingertip is pricked with a lancet)