HCV transmission from fighting

[lola099]

Hello,

I have read online some conflicting things about HCV transmission. The common denominator is that the virus is spread through blood-to-blood contact, the thing that varies is the amount of blood required to transmit the virus. I have read that infected blood must get into the blood stream of another person and that is not the easiest thing to accomplish. However some sites have said that a microscopic amount of  blood, naked to the eye, is enough to trnasmit the virus. Now I find this hard to believe as if this were the case, would there not be more cases of HCV? But then I read that it can be spread by razors (although risk is low) and I cannot imagine lots of blood being on there.
So, I am posing the following questions to see if anyone can give me more concise answers,
I am curious to know if anyone has an answer to the following questions:
My husband fights in MMA. He does occasionally come into contact with blood.
What is the real risk associated in a sports setting?

If there is dried blood, or a spot where blood has been and not cleaned effectively on the mats and he then gets a mat burn (common occurence apparently) on that spot, what is the risk, if there is even one.

I wash his gym clothes and towels on a hot wash, with no bleach, as I cannot bleach his training gear, is this sufficient to remove the virus from his clothing if it should be on there on a spot of blood?

If the virus is on his equipment (i.e boxing gloves) and those go into his gym bag with his towel, is he then essentially wiping his clean body after a shower with the virus?

I do realize that this questions may seem a little out there, but I am just looking for some answers.

I appreciate any feed back any of you may have.

Thank you.

[CoWriter]

It takes 10 picoliters of blood to infect somebody with hepatitis B or C (more for HIV).  One picoliter is one trillionth of a liter.

There is a new study that showed that viral load can be measured on dry spots of blood.  The study was done to see whether dry-spot mail-in tests are a good option for screening.

What's considered an open wound?  Anything that removes the top layer of skin and is fresh.  

Co

[suezeeque]

You can use Virkon to clean surfaces that you can't wash with the laundry.

[lola099]

That is very scary that people can a) have the virus and not know and b) not know where they got it.

Seems to me that it may be easier to contract that I originally thought...

It is not uncommon for him to have scratches and not know how they got there, from velcro on a glove, from the mat, a finger nail.., grosses me out to say the very least.

Mat burns can be a reddened area, they can also be like a blister exposing raw skin underneath. I have concern that could contaminate the mats where the practices take place, and that would put the virus on the clothing and spread to his towel ... etc.... .If there is contaminated blood on his clothing, will a wash with hot water be enough to rid the virus? Can it live  through the dryer? And can it survive in my washing machine or dryer to spread to other articles of clothing?Im also thinking this may be far fetched and stretching it a little.

I will also suggest that he wipe his equipment with Clorox wipes or something similar

Again, thank you all. Much appreciated.

[runsincircles]

I read somewhere that any bleeding or "weeping" wound is a possibility of transmission.  I assume any wet or sticky wounds would have blood products in them

[willbb]

but that there are cases when people are unaware of where they contracted the virus..
-------------------------------------------------
questimates are about  30%  have no clue  and appox. 100 mill. (worldwide)that have it that don't know it....

Best to you both..
Will

[orphanedhawk]

It's true you are speaking a foreign language to me. A mat burn in my mind is a reddened area.

People not knowing how they got hepc is just that.
And it isn't uncommon.

[lola099]

Thank you Bill.

I truly do appreciate all feedback.

I myself will be speaking to my Dr and will assure that he does the same.

I cannot be driving myself crazy wondering about microscopic droplets of blood because if I do that I may just burn his equipment after each practice :)

I do however want to be educated and assure that I take the appropriate steps if he is exposed to blood. I also understand that not all blood is infected, but again Id rather take precautions.

[lola099]

I will definately encourage him to get blood tests at a 6 moth interval, better safe than sorry and better to know than to unknowingly spread the virus to someone else.

I have read that in sports settings there have been no documented cases, but that there are cases when people are unaware of where they contracted the virus.. not even sure what to make of that to be honest.

[Bill1954]

None of us are trained or educated for disease vector situations; we’re patients and don’t speak with any sort of authority. As a patient I imagine the risk of transmission for your husband is negligible, but his doctor will be the final word.

10%  household bleach/water solution applied and allowed to soak for ten minutes is often used  as a viricide by hospitals and industrial situations; I think you can be reasonably confident with this method. Again, speak with a medical doctor about transmission as well as any associated anxiety-

--Bill

[lola099]

I barely touch his clothing when I wash them, and I always wash my hands right after because they are gross and dripping with sweat.
He however will take his equipment out of his bag to air out and not think twice about washing his hands.. I urge him to but he thinks Im overly paranoid about things. His concern is that of a staph infection so he is careful with open wounds, I am just not sure what "open" means if you say a mat burn it not an open wound.

[lola099]

Thank you all for  your quick comments.

That is correct that amateur fighters are not required to have blood tests.
If he does fight professionally then, yes he has to be tested for blood-borne disease's amongst other things. Anyone can train at the gym, and when you are boxing, wrestling etc.. injuries can happen and some of them do in fact bleed.

I have seen some mat burns that rub the skin clean off and leave raw exposed skin (gross, totally) but it is not actually bleeding... I did not know this did not count as an open wound.

So am I correct in thinking that even the tinest little amount of blood can spread the virus? I cannot very well clean his equipment (gloves, shoes, etc) with bleach and I have read that even full strength bleach may not kill HCV.

I do not want to go on an obsessive overload of crazy paranoia here, but these replies have caused me a little bit more concern then I originally had. I thought that you had to see the blood in order for it to spread... I can only imagine the places in the gyms where blood could have been and not cleaned properly.. like the ropes.

Glad to hear that the laundry should not be of a concern, I have not had to clean blood that is not his at this point so I guess that is good? In terms of a fighter maybe not so much.

Again thank you all for your replies. In your opinions, would you classify this situation as low low risk, or high risk? I do understand that when dealing with blood there is always some risk.

[hrsepwrguy]

Pro Fighters

BLOOD TEST
Report of physical examination including an original laboratory report with the  fighters name and the date the HIV test and Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Hepatitis C Antibody tests were taken. The HIV test must be done within 30 days of submitting  all requirements to become licensed. The Hepatitis B & C tests can be done within the calendar year.




All Amateur fighters are
**ENCOURAGED
to receive annual
HIV and Hep B Tests.
However due to costs
They are not mandatory.

(**) Some States have a MANDATORY requirement for Blood Work.
Please check with your State Boxing or Athletic Commission to see if they have any MANDATORY Blood Test Requirements.

http://www.iscfmma.com/ISCFRules12.htm

[orphanedhawk]

Okay, to help you understand the size of an individual viron, if one virion was the size of a basketball, a single liver cell would be the size of a football field.

Since it is so teensy, it can indeed be passed by blood droplets which are unseen by the human eye.

Furthermore, hep C can live outside the body ( unlike HIV) for up to 4 days.

It is possible if your husband had an open wound and got blood from an infected opponent into the wound that he could get the virus.
A  mat burn is not an open wound.

I would not worry about washing the clothes. Do you do this with open cuts on your hands?

Use common sense.
And remember, blood to blood.

[willbb]

Any time blood  from an HCV infected person(even a microscopic amount )enters the blood stream of another there is risk of transmission.

The blood can stay infectious  from anywhere of 4 hrs. up to 4 days(under the right conditions.

http://hepatitis.about.com/od/questions/f/Virus_live.htm

Hepatitis C Virus
The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, can live outside the body for up to 4 days. However, many experts think it usually survives up to 16 hours at room temperature.

Welcome to the group..
Will