Does Hiv Survive In The Open Environment

Here's a taste of what TheBody.com has to offer on this topic:

Articles

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Survival of HIV in the Environment

Concerning the survival of HIV in the environment, two facts are: HIV does not survive well outside the body. HIV has to be grown in large amounts to be studied in laboratories. Although HIV has been kept alive under certain laboratory... Read more »

Apricitabine Development Should Not Be Halted, Say HIV/AIDS Advocates in Open Letter

[Following is the text of an open letter sent on June 17 by the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition and European AIDS Treatment Group. The letter was addressed to Susan Cox, the former senior vice president of drug development at Avexa; copies were... Read more »

Microbicides, the Future of HIV Prevention?

AIDS Survival Project has been a proud supporter of the Global Campaign for Microbicides since 1999. This open letter from campaign director, Lori Heise explains the excitement and the challenges presented at the year's International AIDS... Read more »

Ask the Experts

blood drop survival outside the environment

In reading the responses to several questions pertaining to hiv survival outside the body in various forums on this website, I've noticed that some answers state the virus dies within seconds of air exposure while other answers state it takes...

Response from Nancy Breuer

WorkPositive, Inc.

At such HIV-related sites as Aegis, you can read studies that address this question, but as a non-medically-trained person, please allow me to point out that unless the blood in question comes into direct contact with a break in the skin or a mucous... Read more »

HIV Survival, Fluids On Open Wound!!

Dear Robert,My name is Daniel, and I live in France. I have a question concerning the risk of HIV.I've had a sexual encouter with a another man. As far as I'm concerned it was safe, but due to overwhelming info. and cases concerning HIV...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Daniel,Tu habites en France et tu m'cris en anglais ? Pourquoi ? Alors, je dois prsumer que tu penses que je parle franais comme une vache espagnole.OK, I'll respond in English.1.Oral sex carries a very low risk for HIV transmission. The... Read more »

Exactly how long does HIV survive outside its host?

Hello. In several of yuor answers to the question on how long can HIV live outside the human body, it was stated ranging from few to several minutes. By how much is this 'few to several minutes'?How much constitutes few or several minutes?...

Response from Ryan M. Kull, C.S.W

Columbia University's Health & Related Services

Unfortunately, there is no exact answer to your question. There are many different variables that will determine how long HIV infected fluid will remain infectious in the environment. The type of fluid, the quantity of fluid, the amount of virus... Read more »

HIV in a smoke filled environment

I had read, from a supposed health "expert" from Columbia Universisty that, "HIV is a fragile organism, and its survival outside the body in the smoky air of a bar is estimated by scientists to be just a fraction of a...

Response from Rick Sowadsky, M.P.H.

Nevada State Health Division AIDS Program

Thank you for your question. Put very simply, HIV does not survive outside the body for more than a few minutes, regardless of how much smoke is in the air. In addition, HIV is not transmitted through airborne contact (breathing it in, coughing,... Read more »

Go to Ask the Experts »

Connect With Others

Hiv survival on organic surfaces (e.g. skin, hair)

Posted by Antre, 2 Replies

Hallo. I have read a lot of articles before asking this question but I still have a question (maybe due to the fact that I do not have medical knowledge). We know that HIV does not survive for very long outside the body. Actually as soon as the body... Read more »

READ. BE OPEN MINDED. AND SURVIVE

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

Because i believe everyone has a right to all information. And that i believe that scientists and doctors are human...and fallable. And because all information allows you to make informed choices about your life and health...good luck.

www.rethinkinga... Read more »

HIV Survival

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

I've been searching everywhere and cannot find a good answer to this question. How long will HIV survive in everyday environments outside of the body? There was a small amount of dried blood (much less than a milliliter) on the sink in a public... Read more »

hiv survival skeptic for jackie

Posted by Anonymous

hey I read a previous post about shaking hands with open cuts.Ok fair enough hiv dies outside the body but do we know how long exactly?I read it dies after 10 mins but what if hiv blood makes contact on open wounds befor that?I mean the time it... Read more »

Connect on Our Bulletin Boards »

Tools

My Health Tracker

Assess Your Risk for HIV

Find Local HIV/AIDS Services

Resource Centers

Guides for People With HIV

View All of Our Guides >>