Putting A Number On It: The Risk From An Exposure To Hiv
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Author: James Wilton
Service providers working in HIV prevention are often asked by their patients and clients about the risk of HIV transmission from an exposure to HIV through sex. What do the latest studies tell us about this risk? And how should we interpret and communicate the results?
Can Sharing Dishes Or Drinking Glasses Spread Hiv
Dr. Flash clears up how HIV is and is NOT spread.
You cannot get HIV through casual contact like sharing dishes or drinking glasses, toilet seats, or holding hands. HIV is also not spread through sweat, tears, saliva, or kissing.
The most common way HIV is spread is through unprotected sex with someone with HIV who is not aware of their status or not on antiretrovirals . Unprotected here refers to sex without condoms or the use of medications that reduce the risk of passing HIV from one person to another. HIV can also be transmitted by sharing needles.
#AskTheHIVDoc is a video series from Greater Than AIDS featuring top HIV doctors providing answers to commonly-asked questions about HIV prevention, testing and treatment.
This information is shared for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. The views expressed are those of the featured medical professional and reflect information available to that professional at time of filming. Always consult a health care provider for any personal health decision.
While we make every effort to keep the medical information on our website updated, we cannot guarantee that the information reflects the most up-to-date research. Also, please note the views expressed by individuals who appear in Greater Than AIDS videos and other content are their own and are not made on behalf of any groups/organizations/associations.
Sharing Toothbrushes + Mouthguards
Ever forget a toothbrush and borrow your partners? The American Dental Association advises against this practice.
Toothbrushes may cause microtrauma. Someone elses saliva can come in contact with tears in your mucous membrane and transmit infection, explains Dr. Benninger.
Sharing toothbrushes is especially risky if you have a weakened immune system.
Have a cold, sore throat or other virus? Keep your toothbrush from touching the family toothpaste and others toothbrushes.
There are also several types of mouthguards those that protect your teeth, mouth and jaw during sports, and help keep you from grinding your teeth at night.
You can get stock mouthguards from a sporting goods store, bite and boil mouthguards from a drugstore, or custom-made mouthguards from your dentist.
Whatever type you use, mouthguards, which are porous, should never be shared. A 2007 study, reported in General Dentistry, found that mouthguards harbor bacteria, yeasts and molds.
Someone elses mouthguard may fit very poorly and cause microtrauma, says Dr. Benninger. This can expose your mucous membranes to infection.
If you wear a mouthguard, be sure to:
- Brush your teeth before inserting it.
- Clean it whenever you brush your teeth.
- Store it in a case.
- Avoid chewing on it.
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Cs And Hiv Individually And Additively Suppress Cftr Biogenesis And Function
Figure 6
CS and HIV individually and additively suppress CFTR biogenesis and function. NHBE ALI cultures were infected with either R5- or X4- tropic strain of HIV and exposed to chronic smoke exposure on days 0, 3, 6 and 9 . On day 9, total RNA was analyzed for CFTR mRNA by qRT-PCR. Another set of age and lung-matched cultures grown on snapwells were treated similarly and mounted in Ussing chambers on day 9. Cells were mounted in Ussing chambers and Cl- efflux in response to albuterol addition was determined in the presence of amiloride as reported by us earlier. HIV infection and CS individually and additively suppresses CFTR mRNA and function . n=3 lungs *significant S=significant from each other .
Can You Catch Hiv From Oral Sex
HIV is mainly spread through unprotected sexual intercourse. So use condoms. The risk of catching HIV from giving or receiving oral sex is very small, but isnt zero. Lets go through the facts:
If youre a man receiving oral sex from someone with HIV, there is a tiny risk of catching it if you have a cut on your genital area, or if the person giving you oral sex has a cut in their mouth. So its pretty unlikely really.
If youre a woman receiving oral sex from someone who is HIV positive, there is only a tiny risk of catching it from them: mainly if they have cuts or abrasions on their mouth and you too have cuts or abrasions on your vaginal area. So its pretty unlikely.
If youre giving oral sex to an HIV positive woman, the risks are again very small unless she is on her period. Then sometimes the blood from her period will contain the HIV virus and you could catch it if you have cuts or abrasions in your mouth.
Bear in mind that if the HIV positive person is on effective treatment and has whats called an undetectable viral load then a recent study has shown that the risk of catching HIV from them is practically zero.
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Current Options For Substitution
Long-term substitution has greater potential for substantial health benefit than cutting down . There are two approaches to substitution: a therapeutic approach similar to methadone maintenance therapy, and a non-therapeutic approach using unapproved products, including vaporisers. Current options for nicotine replacement include patches, gum, lozenges, mouth sprays and transdermal products. Vaporisers simulate smoking without the smoke and can be used with or without nicotine. Ideally, nicotine replacement therapy treatment has a limited time period with the aim of moving the smoker off nicotine entirely. The legal status of vaporisers, and the nicotine-containing liquid used in them, varies by jurisdiction. In many countries, they are legally sold as consumer products, similar to cigarettes. However, some countries only allow nicotine-free vaporisers and refill fluids to be sold.
The Royal College of Physicians and Public Health England have estimated that the risk of long-term use of e-cigarettes is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm done as a result of smoking tobacco . The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have also concluded that e-cigarettes appear to pose less risk to an individual than combustible tobacco cigarettes and that they might also increase adult cessation of combustible tobacco cigarettes . However, the committee highlighted the need for more evidence on both short-term and long-term effects of vaping.
Sport And Transmission Of Hiv And Hepatitis
The risk of transmission of HIV or hepatitis B or C from an infected player is:
- negligible for other athletes and players involved in contact sports
- negligible for first aid officers who follow infection control guidelines
- zero for coaches, trainers, officials and spectators.
HIV and hepatitis B and C cannot spread through:
- sweat or saliva from other sportspeople
- sharing drink bottles with team members
- hugging or shaking hands.
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Cumulative Effects Of Hiv Infection And Smoking On Immunity
However, the most compelling evidence in support of a cumulative, immunosuppressive effect of HIV infection and smoking is derived from clinical epidemiological studies demonstrating increased frequencies and severity of TB, PCP and pneumococcal pneumonia in HIV-infected smokers, described later in this review.
Why Might People Living With Hiv Get Tested For Hiv
Because we connect with every single person who tests positive at one of our locations, we always ask why people get tested for HIV if theyve already been diagnosed in the past.
It happens for many reasons: People may test with a partner they havent yet disclosed to, they may have mental health concerns that come into play, or they need a letter of diagnosis to access services . Sometimes its because they are confused about the kind of information an HIV test will provide.
Now that weknow undetectable equals untransmittable , some people may have the misconception thatif youre undetectable, you will no longer test positive for HIV. They may think that if they test HIV-negative on an HIV test, theyll be able to show this to their sex partners as a way to prove that theyre undetectable and untransmittable. Or, they may think it will be easier to tell partners theyre HIV-negative rather than undetectable and uninfectious.
If you are living with HIV and have an undetectable viral load, you will still test positive for HIV. But, if you are living with HIV, have been taking HIV medications every day as directed, have a durably suppressed viral load and have been undetectable for at least six months, you will not transmit HIV to sex partners. You are not infectious. Thats the meaning of U=U.
Heres why you will still test positive for HIV even if you are undetectable.
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Can You Get Hiv After Smoking A Blunt With Someone
I agree with the answers above. HIV is transmitted through blood or sexually. Through a cigarette or the saliva can not get this disease. If you care about your health, I advise you to carry out HIV prevention. Study this article . Prevention is better than cure. I think about what everyone should know about it. I regularly take tenvir to prevent this disease in my body.
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Cs Increases Ccr5 Expression By Tgf
A number of reports including ours have shown that CS induces TGF- signaling,,. TGF- signaling has also been shown to directly suppress several microRNAs including miR-141-5p, the only experimentally validated miRNA known to tightly regulate CCR5 expression via ribosomal frameshifting. Primarily, we have investigated if increase in CCR5 protein levels is due to an overall increase in CCR5 mRNA. NHBE ALI cultures were exposed to CS . Total RNA was isolated and analyzed for CCR5 mRNA levels as described by us earlier. As seen in Fig. , CS increases CCR5 mRNA levels suggesting that increase in CCR5 by CS is due to increase in CCR5 transcripts. Given that CS induces TGF- signaling, we tried to determine if TGF- treatment leads to a similar increase in CCR5 mRNA levels. NHBE ALI cultures were treated with TGF- as described by us earlier. As seen in Fig. , TGF- treatment also increases CCR5 mRNA levels. Given that TGF- suppresses miR-141-5p in other cell types, we tried to determine if TGF- and CS also suppress miR-141-5p. We analyzed the total RNA for miR-141-5p expression using miR-141-5p specific probe . Figure
Study Design Settings And Participants
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 132 HIV infected individuals who received antiretroviral therapy at the ART clinic of the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital a national-level government health care facility for infectious disease control in Kathmandu, Nepal. The STIDH is one of the largest ART clinics in Nepal that provides HIV counseling, testing, nutritional supports, antiretroviral medicines, medical care, opportunistic infection treatment and medicine services. HIV-infected individuals aged 18 years and older were eligible participants of the study. All the participants were randomly selected. We developed a list of 1447 ART receiving clients. The first list was developed using a simple random sampling technique that included 132 clients the second list was developed when we were not able to interview the clients from the first list. We calculated sample size using a conservative formula with 50% prevalence, 95% confidence level, 10% margin of error and 30% no-response, resulting in a total sample estimation of 132 HIV infected individuals. The study was conducted between September and December 2014 and the response rate was 100%.
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Does Hiv Viral Load Affect Getting Or Transmitting Hiv
Yes. Viral load is the amount of HIV in the blood of someone who has HIV. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine can reduce a persons HIV viral load very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness. This is called viral suppression, defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.
HIV medicine can also make the viral load so low that a standard lab test cant detect it. This is called having an undetectable level viral load. Almost everyone who takes HIV medicine as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment.
As noted above, people with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIVto their HIV-negative partnersthrough sex.
HIV medicine is a powerful tool for preventing sexual transmission of HIV. But it works only if the HIV-positive partner gets and keeps an undetectable viral load. Not everyone taking HIV medicine has an undetectable viral load. To stay undetectable, people with HIV must take HIV medicine as prescribed and visit their health care provider regularly to get a viral load test. Learn more.
Immunosuppression Due To Hiv Infection Of Cd4+ T
HIV is directly cytopathic for CD4+ T-cells with the memory subset more susceptible than naïve cells . Abortive infection of quiescent bystander CD4+ T-cells is also believed to be a major cause of T-cell depletion. In this setting, incomplete HIV reverse transcripts accumulate in the cytosol. These, in turn, are recognised by the interferon–inducible viral cytosolic DNA receptor, IFI16, which forms an inflammasome, resulting in the activation of a caspase-1-mediated intense inflammatory response leading to a type of inflammation-associated cell death known as pyroptosis . These generalised mechanisms of cell death are exacerbated by destruction of HIV-infected CD4+ T-cells by HIV-antigen-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells.
Follicular helper T-cells are extremely vulnerable to infection by HIV. These cells, which populate the germinal centres of secondary lymphoid organs, including the highly-organised network of mediastinal lymph nodes in the lung, promote B-cell maturation and isotype switching . Infection of Tfh cells by HIV not only compromises the production of specific antibodies, but also serves as a major reservoir of the virus .
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Cs Enhances Infection Of Nhbe Ali Cultures By R5
In our earlier report, we have shown that differentiated NHBE cells expresses CD4, CXCR4 and CCR5 receptors and can be infected with X4- or R5-tropic virus. Given reports of enhanced HIV loads in smokers,, we tried to determine if CS increases HIV infection of NHBE cells. Age and lung matched NHBE cultures redifferentiated at the ALI were exposed to CS and then infected with 5ng of HIV BaL or HIV IIIB strain HIV as described by us earlier. 16hours post-infection, cells were washed with phosphate buffer saline four times. The fourth wash was collected for p24 analysis and measured as day 0 to confirm that all input virus had been removed. HIV infection of NHBE cells peaks on day 3 and hence basolateral media was collected on day 3 for p24 analysis. As seen in Fig. , CS enhances p24 of NHBE cells by the R5-tropic BaL strain but does not affect infection by the X4-tropic IIIB strain . To test if increased p24 expression is due to an increased viral entry, we exposed NHBE ALI cultures to CS and infected NHBE ALI cultures with the RGH-WT HIV reporter reported by Dahabieh et al. . RGH virus is an env- single cycle HIV reporter. RGH-WT was enveloped with R5-tropic env as reported by us earlier. On day 3 post-infection, total DNA was isolated from these cells and HIV DNA was quantitated by qPCR. As seen in Fig. , increased levels of proviral DNA were observed in NHBE ALI cultures exposed to CS. These data demonstrate that CS enhances viral entry in NHBE ALI cultures.
Figure 1
Hiv And Stds Are Spread In The Same Ways
You can get HIV or an STD by having sex without a condom with a person who is already infected. HIV and some STDs can be passed from a mother to her baby while she is pregnant, during birth or through breast feeding. HIV and some STDs can also be spread by sharing drug “works” with someone who has HIV or an STD.
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Protecting Everyone Involved In Sport Against Hiv And Hepatitis
Consult your sporting organisations infection control policies. Simple and inexpensive procedures can prevent the spread of HIV, hepatitis B and C, including:
- Remember to cover all pre-existing wounds before starting a game.
- Wear protective gloves when giving first aid to bleeding players.
- If someones eyes have been splashed with blood with the eyes open, rinse the area gently but thoroughly with water or normal saline, rinsing away from the nose.
- If blood gets in your mouth spit it out and rinse your mouth with water several times.
- Standard practice is to stop play if a player is bleeding and allow them to return to play only after bleeding is controlled and the wound is properly covered.
- Bandage any wounds that occur, and properly clean any playing surfaces and change any clothes exposed to blood before play restarts.
- Have your own drink bottle and towel, mouth guard and other personal items, including razors, to reduce the possibility of small amounts of blood-to-blood transmission.
- If you are concerned about potential infection, contact a doctor or health information line for further advice.
If a player is injured while playing sport:
- Remember to wear protective gloves when giving first aid to a player who is bleeding.
- Stop the bleeding from the wound.
- Dress the wound.
- Clean up the blood.