-
Asked by 325hthj1724 to Caroline, Derrick, Mark, Marta, Sammy on 4 Jul 2017.
-
Marta Maia answered on 4 Jul 2017:
This is how HIV can be transmitted:
1) sexual contact: having unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sex (“unprotected” means not using a condom)
2) blood contact: sharing needles, such as needles used to inject drugs, steroids, and other substances, or sharing needles used for tattooing
-
-
Sammy Wambua answered on 4 Jul 2017:
This is an interesting and important question.
There are a few publications suggesting that a combination of enzymes and antibodies found in saliva make it difficult for HIV to thrive in saliva. Although HIV has been detected in saliva, it is at so low concentrations that it has never led to any known transmissions.
In college, I remember a lecturer arguing that the concentrations of HIV are so low in saliva that to get infection from kissing you would need to exchange 6 litres of saliva, which is difficult if not impossible! I am not sure that this has actually been determined scientifically but… please note these arguments assume that only saliva is being exchanged during kissing. If one has cuts in the mouth and blood is exchanged, there is a real possibility of infection happening.
Marta has pointed out how HIV may be transmitted which I encourage you to look at that.
Comments