LAMP or RT-LAMP exhibits several characteristics that are ideal for integration into a rapid nucleic-acid based diagnostic test. The amplification reaction requires six primers specific for eight separate regions within the target sequence, contributing to the high specificity of the amplification method. Amplified material can typically be detected within 15-60 minutes when incubated at a constant reaction temperature of 60-65uC [22] . LAMP has also proven to be less sensitive to biological inhibitors than PCR [23, 24] , which enables direct amplification from clinical specimens, thereby eliminating the need for an additional nucleic acid extraction step. Direct amplification from plasma, whole blood, and oral fluid has previously been demonstrated for HIV-1 [20, 21, 25] . Lastly, immediate visual detection of amplified products is facilitated by the large amount of DNA that is generated by each reaction. Several groups have incorporated fluorescent detection methods into the LAMP assay for real-time or immediate naked-eye detection [15, 17, 21, 22, 26] .