Hundreds of Suspect HIV Test Kits Sold

Hundreds of people used the Internet to buy an HIV home test kit that lacks federal approval and doesn’t yield accurate results, authorities said in Newark, N.J. In a federal court there, Stanley Lapides, 56, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of distributing misbranded medical devices with the intent to mislead. He said he mailed 628 kits to U.S. customers from October 1997 to March 1999 without advising them the devices lacked Food and Drug Administration approval. The online sites selling the Ana-Sal kit claimed it produced results in five minutes that were more than 99% accurate. However, tests by the FDA disproved those claims, Assistant U.S. Atty. Scott Christie said.