WASHINGTON -- A new HIV test will soon be available in the United States -- one that lets patients avoid needles and gives them results in only 20 minutes.

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The Food and Drug Administration said the results of the OraQuick test are accurate 99 percent of the time. It's the first AIDS test that uses a treated cotton swab along the gums to screen for HIV antibodies. Health professionals just stick the swab into a special testing device for on-the-spot results.

If the OraQuick test gives a reactive test result, that result must be confirmed with a more specific blood test.

This is the second rapid HIV test on the market but the first bloodless one. The other, approved last fall, requires pricking a person's finger.

"Before the approval of this rapid test in November 2002, many people being tested for HIV in public clinics did not return for the results of standard tests," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. "Where the rapid test is available, those tested get their results within minutes.

"This oral test provides another important option for people who might be afraid of a blood test. It will improve care for these people and improve the public health as well," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that one-fourth of the approximately 900,000 HIV-infected people in the United States are not aware that they are infected.