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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2001

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a gene test that will help HIV patients fight the virus with appropriate drugs.

The Trugene test by Visible Genetics determines whether genetic mutations are occuring in an HIV patient. The patient can then identify which of more than a dozen drugs will best attack the particular strain of the virus.

The test requires a blood sample. It is 98 percent accurate, said an FDA reviewer.

HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS. There are more than 2,000 reported cases of AIDS in Indian Country.

Get the Story:
HIV gene test OK'd; it will show when it's time for new treatment (AP 9/28)

Relevant Links:
20 Years of AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/20years.htm

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