The study which led to the 4 day concept

[paranoidyahoo]

So I was reading about the actual chimp study that is the basis for the survival period being 16 hours up to 4 days in dried blood hepc statements which are on the CDC website etc.

However, it seems that the study found that the dried blood was infectious after 24 hours, and that it was no infectious at the 4-7 day period of drying. Which has given rise to the 16 hour-4 days thought.

But the thing that seems so inconsistent/unresolved to me is that there were not individual tests done at 48 hours and 72 hours. So the "up to 4 days" concept seems to be a very conservative estimate. There is no evidence that the dried blood would still be infectious at 48-72 hours, in this study as far as I can tell.

What I'm getting at, is that would you agree that for dried blood to still be infectious at 4 days, this would be a very unique circumstance etc. (i.e. huge concentration)

Has anyone else kind of questioned the absolute truth behind the 4 day rule? Without specific testing at 48 hours and 72 hours, I don't get how the assumption can be made that it is still infectious. For all we know, the chimps may have not been infected if they moved the second sampling back from 4-7 to 3-7.

Thoughts?

[merryBe]

the bottom line is it had to have an avenue directly into your blood stream, meaning an open wound on your body. It doesn't go through the skin only an open point of contact with your bloodstream.  Obviously its really bothering you. TRy to relax, you'll have to wait months to test for antibodies, meanwhile in all likelihood you'll have been worrying for nothing.

Try to think of the movie singing in the rain. Where Gene Kelly hops around in puddles.

Now suppose those puddle were blood, he still couldn't get this virus unless he had an open point of contact, a open sore or cut on his body that was NOT scabbed over. He could splash in puddles of blood and not get the virus. The virus HAS to enter through a needle, or an open wound.

If it were easy to get do you really think doctors would still be doing vastly bloody surgeries everyday and yet are not getting this virus??

[hcvJames]

I was thinking, "Thank Gawd I'm not a chimp."
or as my favorite Doctor would say
"Dam* It Jim, I'm a doctor not a chimp."

A huge concentration wouldn't matter if it all had the same drying time. A possible determinate could be temperature. Cool or cold temps might prolong the viability. Just a guess.