HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer

[Sinergy 3]

It does seem a bit harsh...

I didn't think HIV was at all easily transmitted that way...

Unless that saliva comes by the gallon, no, you can't transmit HIV that way.

The sentence seems ridiculously harsh. But this IS Texas we're talking about.

true about the texas and their laws...honestly if i was the cop i wouldnt just brush it off, id be tested, HIV isnt something to play with or ignore just bc it was a bit of spit

Edited May 15, 2008 by Sinergy

[HAL 9000 96]

DALLAS - An HIV-positive man convicted of spitting into the eye and mouth of a Dallas police officer has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Because a jury found that Willie Campbell used his saliva as a deadly weapon, the 42-year-old will have to serve half his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He was sentenced Wednesday.

Campbell was being arrested in May 2006 for public intoxication when he began resisting and kicking inside the patrol car, Dallas police office Dan Waller testified.

Campbell was convicted of harassment of a public servant.

no, it's not harsh. aids is present in the saliva and while it's supposedly not tranmittable via saliva, who would want saliva tainted with aids spit into their eye? the eye has a pretty thin barrier after all.

See previous post. You literally need a volume of saliva in the gallon-range to be able to have a high enough titer of HIV to be able to infect someone via epithelial/corneal contact.

Maybe they should have "tested" the officer to see if he did indeed contract HIV via the assault. Adjourned it until they did find out. I highly doubt he will contract it given the circumstances. Hopefully the man will appeal. This is a horribly long time for an assault, or resisting arrest.

It can take up to 10 years to show up

i've heard it's detectable by tests within 6 months.

The more expensive tests can detect HIV within 2 months now.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That's outrageous! You can't spread HIV from spitting on someone anymore than if you involuntarily sneezed in a room! How stupid.

would you really care to be a test case for that?

Sure I would...that's how certain I am that someone can't get infected through spit. This is just pure ignorance of what we know about the transmission of HIV.

The only body fluids with enough HIV to transmit are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.

Saliva contains so few viruses (if any at all) that there is no where near enough to cause infection.

Not to mention the issue of that saliva getting inside another person's blood stream (fairly difficult unless there are major disruptions in the oral mucosa (skin on the inside of the mouth). We know that it takes a certain concentration of HIV to cause infection and so saliva simply cannot.

We also know that within saliva is an enzyme that seems to have HIV inhibitory effects.

If there were visible blood present in the saliva/spit then infection is possible, but still not likely --- it still would have to get inside another person's blood stream. If swallowed, stomach acid would take care of HIV instantly. To infect the other person it would have to avoid the inhibitory enzymes in saliva (and relative to other viruses, HIV is a weakling), and find an open cut, blister (eg recent major dental work, current STI lesion in the mouth,etc.,) And then find the appropriate cells to infect before it dies.

Pretty tough task.

So, that is why saliva/spit can't transmit HIV. If it could, we would have a LOT more people infected who have no risk factors (ie young children of HIV- parents, nuns, healthcare workers, personal support workers, ...) and that doesn't pan out either --- sort of the same reason we can tell HIV cannot be passed by mosquitoe: we would see a different pattern of infected people.

Hope this helps

* 3 months ago

Source(s):

HIV/STI Prevention and Outreach Educator x6 years

HBSc. Microbiology and Immunology

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...30114608AAOItUn

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The real issue here is that he spat on a cop. They are precious. They are our overlords. He must die.

[william_wallace 8]

Wonder what sentence he would have got if he spat on someone else rather than a policeman? Probebly a rap on the knuckles.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I heard you can get HIV from toilet seats. Is this true?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Wonder what sentence he would have got if he spat on someone else rather than a policeman? Probebly a rap on the knuckles.

Not even a rap on the knuckles.

I heard you can get HIV from toilet seats. Is this true?

Only if you make love to it.

[HAL 9000 96]

The real issue here is that he spat on a cop. They are precious. They are our overlords. He must die.

It IS Texas...

had he spat a second time forget it... Electric Chair!

[Fandango 1,440]

Maybe they should have "tested" the officer to see if he did indeed contract HIV via the assault. Adjourned it until they did find out. I highly doubt he will contract it given the circumstances. Hopefully the man will appeal. This is a horribly long time for an assault, or resisting arrest.

It can take up to 10 years to show up

i've heard it's detectable by tests within 6 months.

I remember a while back hearing that from someone I knew who was HIV+, but after looking on the net, it seems that while u can have a false negative result, its the AIDS virus that can take up to 10 years to develop.

My apols!

[Ban Hammer 13,671]

That's outrageous! You can't spread HIV from spitting on someone anymore than if you involuntarily sneezed in a room! How stupid.

would you really care to be a test case for that?

Sure I would...that's how certain I am that someone can't get infected through spit. This is just pure ignorance of what we know about the transmission of HIV.

The only body fluids with enough HIV to transmit are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.

Saliva contains so few viruses (if any at all) that there is no where near enough to cause infection.

Not to mention the issue of that saliva getting inside another person's blood stream (fairly difficult unless there are major disruptions in the oral mucosa (skin on the inside of the mouth). We know that it takes a certain concentration of HIV to cause infection and so saliva simply cannot.

We also know that within saliva is an enzyme that seems to have HIV inhibitory effects.

If there were visible blood present in the saliva/spit then infection is possible, but still not likely --- it still would have to get inside another person's blood stream. If swallowed, stomach acid would take care of HIV instantly. To infect the other person it would have to avoid the inhibitory enzymes in saliva (and relative to other viruses, HIV is a weakling), and find an open cut, blister (eg recent major dental work, current STI lesion in the mouth,etc.,) And then find the appropriate cells to infect before it dies.

Pretty tough task.

So, that is why saliva/spit can't transmit HIV. If it could, we would have a LOT more people infected who have no risk factors (ie young children of HIV- parents, nuns, healthcare workers, personal support workers, ...) and that doesn't pan out either --- sort of the same reason we can tell HIV cannot be passed by mosquitoe: we would see a different pattern of infected people.

Hope this helps

* 3 months ago

Source(s):

HIV/STI Prevention and Outreach Educator x6 years

HBSc. Microbiology and Immunology

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...30114608AAOItUn

well you knock yourself out then being a test case dummy then. given how what we know changes about this disease, i think the sentence was right.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Wonder what sentence he would have got if he spat on someone else rather than a policeman? Probebly a rap on the knuckles.

Not even a rap on the knuckles.

I heard you can get HIV from toilet seats. Is this true?

Only if you make love to it.

What about if you're in a crowded elavator and someone farts?

[Niels Bohr 72]

Texas justice! LOL

Hey, that'll teach those other vernons about how things work around there.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Wonder what sentence he would have got if he spat on someone else rather than a policeman? Probebly a rap on the knuckles.

Not even a rap on the knuckles.

I heard you can get HIV from toilet seats. Is this true?

Only if you make love to it.

What about if you're in a crowded elavator and someone farts?

I'm glad I have sinus blockage. Keeps the HIV out.

Texas justice! LOL

Hey, that'll teach those other vernons about how things work around there.

Vermin. Not Vernon.

[HAL 9000 96]

That's outrageous! You can't spread HIV from spitting on someone anymore than if you involuntarily sneezed in a room! How stupid.

would you really care to be a test case for that?

Sure I would...that's how certain I am that someone can't get infected through spit. This is just pure ignorance of what we know about the transmission of HIV.

The only body fluids with enough HIV to transmit are blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.

Saliva contains so few viruses (if any at all) that there is no where near enough to cause infection.

Not to mention the issue of that saliva getting inside another person's blood stream (fairly difficult unless there are major disruptions in the oral mucosa (skin on the inside of the mouth). We know that it takes a certain concentration of HIV to cause infection and so saliva simply cannot.

We also know that within saliva is an enzyme that seems to have HIV inhibitory effects.

If there were visible blood present in the saliva/spit then infection is possible, but still not likely --- it still would have to get inside another person's blood stream. If swallowed, stomach acid would take care of HIV instantly. To infect the other person it would have to avoid the inhibitory enzymes in saliva (and relative to other viruses, HIV is a weakling), and find an open cut, blister (eg recent major dental work, current STI lesion in the mouth,etc.,) And then find the appropriate cells to infect before it dies.

Pretty tough task.

So, that is why saliva/spit can't transmit HIV. If it could, we would have a LOT more people infected who have no risk factors (ie young children of HIV- parents, nuns, healthcare workers, personal support workers, ...) and that doesn't pan out either --- sort of the same reason we can tell HIV cannot be passed by mosquitoe: we would see a different pattern of infected people.

Hope this helps

* 3 months ago

Source(s):

HIV/STI Prevention and Outreach Educator x6 years

HBSc. Microbiology and Immunology

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...30114608AAOItUn

well you knock yourself out then being a test case dummy then. given how what we know changes about this disease, i think the sentence was right.

Read what is written about titer. There is not enough HIV in an HIV+ saliva drop to cause infection. Like it says, you need drones of volumes of saliva to be infected via this route.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That's my understanding also - you'd have to drink a bucket of saliva to ensure transmission.

Who would do that