NATION : Color Test to Help Diagnose AIDS

WASHINGTON — A simple, 10-minute test expected to be licensed later this year uses colors to tell patients if they are infected with the AIDS virus--white for health and blue for medical tragedy.

The test, now undergoing trials at nine centers, will enable people worried about exposure to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus to be tested within minutes at their doctor’s office, instead of having to wait to hear from a distant laboratory.

“It provides a new means for patients to learn of their AIDS status and still retain anonymity,” said Jarel R. Kelsey, president of Murex Corp., a Norcross, Ga., firm that developed the test. “Once this method is widely available, it will encourage more people to determine their status.”

The new test is called SUDS, for single-use diagnostic system.