The proposal for the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, made by OraSure Technologies of Bethlehem, Pa., is scheduled to be discussed Nov. 3 by a federal advisory board.

The company said that after the advisory board meeting it would likely apply formally to the US Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell the at-home HIV test over-the-counter.

Effective, Safe and Easy to Use

Currently, the test is sold only to clinics and doctors and has proven effective, safe and easy to use, the Times reported.

The FDA would need to decide whether approving the test for at-home use is a good idea and whether ordinary people can understand the test's label well enough to use it themselves.

If the FDA approves the at-home HIV test, it would end 18 years of controversy. A 1987 application for an at-home HIV test was opposed by public health officials and AIDS advocates, who feared that an at-home test would lead to panic, widespread suicides and a rush to public health clinics, The Times reported.

Improved Drug Treatments

However, improved drug treatments for AIDS now mean in many cases it's a chronic disease that can be managed for years. That means that there's less risk that a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS might prompt people to commit suicide.

In addition, US federal officials are now more open to the idea that an at-home HIV test may help prevent the spread of the disease.

"If we're going to win the war against AIDS, we need to make HIV testing as easy as pregnancy testing," Dr. Freya Spielberg, a researcher at the Center for AIDS Research at the University of Washington, told the Times.