there seems to be a confusion about nasal secretions causing hiv if you get them in the mouth or on a cut.. i always thought that like saliva they are harmless till i read this abstract...
HIV SHEDDING IN NASAL SECRETIONS OF HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN WITH RHINORRHEA, BANGKOK
CHUACHOOWONG R, SIMONDS R, WARANARAT N, CHOKEPHAIBULKIT K, SUTTHENT R, YOUNG N
Background: HIV RNA is found in nasal/oral fluids of intrauterine HIV-infected newborns with high frequency and concentration. Since exposure to nasal secretions is common in the care of infants and young children, we evaluated whether HIV could be detected in the nasal secretions of HIV-infected children with rhinorrhea.
Methods: We collected nasal secretions using soft suction tubes and plasma using venipuncture from HIV-infected children with rhinorrhea aged <5 years old after parenteral consent. HIV RNA level was determined by Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor (v. 1.5) assay. HIV isolation from nasal secretions was done using co-cultivation. HIV levels in nasal secretions and plasma were correlated using Pearson Correlation.
Results: Seventeen children (age range 6-53 months) were enrolled. HIV RNA could be detected from all 17 pairs of specimens (nasal and plasma). The median HIV RNA level in nasal secretions was 94, 118 (range: 4,778-1,847,629) copies/ml, and in plasma was 175,930 (range: 5,800-3,511,720) copies/ml (P=.09). By co-culture, HIV could be isolated from 2 of the 11 nasal secretion specimens that did not have bacterial contamination. There was no significant correlation between HIV levels in nasal secretions and plasma (r=.45.,P=.07)
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the presence of HIV in nasal secretions of at least some HIV-infected children at concentrations similar to that in plasma. However, the risk for HIV transmission from ordinary exposure to these secretions if any, is unknown and probably very low.
can it really cause HIV...?