The health products watchdog has warned the public against relying solely on home testing kits to identify HIV.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority has said that the tests, which were launched in Ireland last week, are not 100 per cent reliable and can often only identify the virus after 90 days.
The kits, which are made by various providers including the drugs company Mylan, are available over the counter for about €35.
Niall MacAleenan, head of the medical devices unit at the HPRA, said that no self-test could detect HIV immediately after infection and added that if anybody suspected they had been infected in the previous 72 hours they should visit an STI clinic.
He said: “It can take up to 90 days for HIV