HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

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.

i'm aware of what it said. that does not mean i plan on taking unnecessary chances.

[HAL 9000 96]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

true. do you remember that dentist that transmitted it to some of his patients? while we can bicker back and forth about it can or can't be, my thoughts are the guy in the op got what he deserved. biting a cop has the same consequences. and the cop in the op has justifiable reason to worry, regardless of what some study may say. it's his life on the line, isn't it?

[rebeccajo 14]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

true. do you remember that dentist that transmitted it to some of his patients? while we can bicker back and forth about it can or can't be, my thoughts are the guy in the op got what he deserved. biting a cop has the same consequences. and the cop in the op has justifiable reason to worry, regardless of what some study may say. it's his life on the line, isn't it?

Through the blood, Charles. Medical procedures where blood was co-mingled.

No you can't get HIV from a toilet seat. That's ridiculous.

I had an ex-BIL that died from AIDS. Anybody want to keep going on with this ridiculous discussion?

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm

Edited May 15, 2008 by rebeccajo

[eekee 182]

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.

Before 3 months tests won't be accurate, no matter how expensive. In about 97% of the population it will show up in 3 months. In the other 3% it takes up to six months. If you have two conflicting test results, it is recommended to retake in 3 months and then 6 months. It usually takes ~10 years for it develop into aids.

Edited May 15, 2008 by eekee

[Niels Bohr 72]

Cases where people get HIV from saliva is when it has blood mixed in. If somebody has bleeding gums, etc...

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Cases where people get HIV from saliva is when it has blood mixed in. If somebody has bleeding gums, etc...

good point. and you just know them texas cops kicked his butt first before taking him to jail.

[msu17 0]

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!

Just wanted to correct. AIDS is not a seperate virus. HIV is the virus. AIDS occurs when the HIV virus has killed enough of your T cells to basically destroy your body's immune system. There is a cutoff point for the number of T-cells in your body before the disease is classified as AIDS. The time for progression to AIDS is variable based on many factors. Individuals infected at birth progress faster than those who catch it as an adult. A large number of individuals now live with the disease BEFORE being classified as having AIDS for 20-30 years with proper treatment (though the side effects of the retroviral drugs can be really bad).

Really, 35 years is ridiculous. If he got that, that needs to be a standard sentence for anyone spitting on someone else.

Edited May 15, 2008 by msu17

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

Really, 35 years is ridiculous. If he got that, that needs to be a standard sentence for anyone spitting on someone else.

[Fandango 1,439]

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!

Just wanted to correct. AIDS is not a seperate virus. HIV is the virus. AIDS occurs when the HIV virus has killed enough of your T cells to basically destroy your body's immune system. There is a cutoff point for the number of T-cells in your body before the disease is classified as AIDS. The time for progression to AIDS is variable based on many factors. Individuals infected at birth progress faster than those who catch it as an adult. A large number of individuals now live with the disease BEFORE being classified as having AIDS for 20-30 years with proper treatment (though the side effects of the retroviral drugs can be really bad).

Really, 35 years is ridiculous. If he got that, that needs to be a standard sentence for anyone spitting on someone else.

I knew someone was gonna pick up on the 'virus' bit once I saw what I wrote, but it was too late to edit, hahahaha. Hey, it was early morning. Gimme a break that I was nutshelling.

I dunno how I feel about this sentence tho.

I dunno how I feel about this sentence. Yanno at one point we all thought the earth was flat....what if a few years from now we find out that spit can transmit HIV? But I do know that

[HAL 9000 96]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

true. do you remember that dentist that transmitted it to some of his patients? while we can bicker back and forth about it can or can't be, my thoughts are the guy in the op got what he deserved. biting a cop has the same consequences. and the cop in the op has justifiable reason to worry, regardless of what some study may say. it's his life on the line, isn't it?

Medical Fact disagrees with the life on the line theory the sentence implies. Bickering aside, the sentence will most likely be appealed on obvious, logical lines.

[HAL 9000 96]

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.

Before 3 months tests won't be accurate, no matter how expensive. In about 97% of the population it will show up in 3 months. In the other 3% it takes up to six months. If you have two conflicting test results, it is recommended to retake in 3 months and then 6 months. It usually takes ~10 years for it develop into aids.

That is because the mechanism for detection was mainly antibody based- and at 2 months most standard tests only focus on antibody to antigen (HIV) concentration. These tests have their limits of detection. I know since I run similar tests at work on a weekly basis.

You get false positives when the test antibodies react with non-HIV proteins that have similar structures to HIV or similar sequences that cause the antibodies to bind to them. This can happen with several common virus proteins we all carry.

At longer time points, the concentration of HIV titer in blood increases and thusly the limit of detection for the detection assay is circumvented.

Newer, more expensive tests focus on other aspects of detecting HIV and the microenvironmental changes it causes, hence its detection is still subject to limit of detection, but at a lower threshold.

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!

Just wanted to correct. AIDS is not a seperate virus. HIV is the virus. AIDS occurs when the HIV virus has killed enough of your T cells to basically destroy your body's immune system. There is a cutoff point for the number of T-cells in your body before the disease is classified as AIDS. The time for progression to AIDS is variable based on many factors. Individuals infected at birth progress faster than those who catch it as an adult. A large number of individuals now live with the disease BEFORE being classified as having AIDS for 20-30 years with proper treatment (though the side effects of the retroviral drugs can be really bad).

Really, 35 years is ridiculous. If he got that, that needs to be a standard sentence for anyone spitting on someone else.

I knew someone was gonna pick up on the 'virus' bit once I saw what I wrote, but it was too late to edit, hahahaha. Hey, it was early morning. Gimme a break that I was nutshelling.

I dunno how I feel about this sentence tho.

I dunno how I feel about this sentence. Yanno at one point we all thought the earth was flat....what if a few years from now we find out that spit can transmit HIV? But I do know that

The answer to that is only if you drank a gallon of spit with HIV.

Drink up! {f-ing gross!!!!}

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

true. do you remember that dentist that transmitted it to some of his patients? while we can bicker back and forth about it can or can't be, my thoughts are the guy in the op got what he deserved. biting a cop has the same consequences. and the cop in the op has justifiable reason to worry, regardless of what some study may say. it's his life on the line, isn't it?

Medical Fact disagrees with the life on the line theory the sentence implies. Bickering aside, the sentence will most likely be appealed on obvious, logical lines.

as consolemaster pointed out, what if he has blood in his mouth? and as lisa pointed out, as i have been for several posts, medical science today does not know everything.

[HAL 9000 96]

Of course... I mean its pretty gross to get spit on anyways

true. do you remember that dentist that transmitted it to some of his patients? while we can bicker back and forth about it can or can't be, my thoughts are the guy in the op got what he deserved. biting a cop has the same consequences. and the cop in the op has justifiable reason to worry, regardless of what some study may say. it's his life on the line, isn't it?

Medical Fact disagrees with the life on the line theory the sentence implies. Bickering aside, the sentence will most likely be appealed on obvious, logical lines.

as consolemaster pointed out, what if he has blood in his mouth? and as lisa pointed out, as i have been for several posts, medical science today does not know everything.

I agree with consolemaster. Blood in saliva can be an issue, but then again you still need to get past the epithelial (cornea) level to be able to infect.

The case with the dentist was pretty clear... it was transmitted by blood to an open, bleeding gum in the recipient.

Medical science does not know everything... it just answered the saliva transmission question quite unequivocally.

[nane1104 146]

HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities from some AIDS patients. It is important to understand that finding a small amount of HIV in a body fluid does not necessarily mean that HIV can be transmitted by that body fluid. HIV has not been recovered from the sweat of HIV-infected persons. Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm

In order to transmit HIV through saliva even if it conains blood, the other person would have to have an open wound in order to get infected and even then it takes a good amount of blood to make an infection possible.

I think, 35 years are outrageous. You don't get that much for shooting at a cop.

But how do they say? "Don't mess with Texas"