HIV does not survive for very long outside of the human body. HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host, except under laboratory conditions. Therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

Hepatitis A virus can live outside the body for months, depending on the environmental conditions. The virus is killed by heating to 185 degrees F (85 degrees C) for one minute. However, the virus can still be spread from cooked food if it is contaminated after cooking. Adequate chlorination of water, as recommended in the United States, kills hepatitis A virus that enters the water supply.

The HIV virus is very fragile outside the body, but it can live from several minutes to several hours on the surface of objects in the environment, depending on the situation and environmental factors. The potency of the virus outside the body diminishes over time, but the virus must get directly into the bloodstream to infect anyone. Most household cleaners such as soap, bleach or peroxide will kill it. When cleaning any blood spills, use universal precautions.

Recent studies have shown that HCV can survive outside the body and still transmit infection for 16 hours, but not longer than 4 days.

Who is a carrier of hepatitis B virus? Sometimes, people who are infected with HBV never recover fully from the infection; they carry the virus and can infect others for the rest of their lives. In the United States, about one million people carry HBV.

No sooner the body fluid containing the HIV virus starts to dry, 90% to 99% of the virus present becomes disabled upon drying. HIV does not survive very long outside the body.

Scientists and medical authorities agree that HIV does not survive well outside the body, making the possibility of environmental transmission remote. Whilst HIV is found in varying concentrations or amounts in blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, saliva, and tears, to obtain data on the survival of HIV, laboratory studies have required the use of artificially high concentrations of laboratory-grown virus.

If the blood is dry, the virus will be dead. If it is wet, a chance exists that it could still be active. The risk is very small, but rather be safe. Always try and use gloves when you are in a situation where you might be in contact with blood. HIV is very short lived on an inanimate surface. In wet fluid, consider infectious.

HIV can take up to six months to be detectable. Your body needs time to respond to the virus, and therefore the virus may not be detected till months after the actual transmission.

Lice cannot survive for more than 48 hours away from a human scalp. Nits can survive for up to 10 days but need a blood meal from a human one-hour after hatching. For that reason human head lice cannot survive for long periods of time on animals, but animals can be the carrier of the lice. For instance, if two children are playing with a dog, the dog can 'transport' the louse from on child to another.

Some research suggests that the virus can remain active in dried blood for up to 2 months. More recent research (with chimpanzee blood) has found that the virus will remain active for at between 16 hours and 4 days.

Information provided by Hypertufa Forum contributor GardenChicken:) Here in Calgary the average winter temperatures are generally several degrees below freezing. We have regular freeze/thaw cycles throughout winter and occasionally week-long col

Head lice die from lack of food or moisture in about two days if dislodged from a head. They may not live this long if it is very cold or they had not fed before being dislodged. Being dislodged means almost certain death for a head louse so they will avoid this if at all possible. They don't wander on to furniture or clothes very often as this would result in the death of the louse in most cases.

Sperm in the cervical mucus of a woman's vagina can survive for up to six days - possibly seven. Without the cervical mucus to both nourish and protect the sperm, the sperm will die within one-half to four hours. Anyone who has touched semen should wash and dry - or at least wipe off - before touching the vulva or vagina.

In the UK, life expectancy for children has improved and subsequently increased with the development of combination therapy. Today for example, adolescents who acquired HIV at birth have now reached their 20th birthday. Therefore, as treatment and research advances there is hope for a much improved quality of life. There is a small core of children who are "long-term non-progressors" aged between 12-16 who have yet to start on any HIV therapy.

A risk of HIV transmission does exist if instruments contaminated with blood are either not sterilized or disinfected or are used inappropriately between clients. CDC recommends that instruments that are intended to penetrate the skin be used once, then disposed of or thoroughly cleaned and sterilized.

No, the survival numbers indicate statistical estimates (probabilities) for the median survival for other patients who received that treatment. The survival numbers should only be used as general information for three reasons: First, although oncologists who administered the treatment calculated the survival number for the patients who received the treatment, the number is based on statistical probabilities. This means that these are estimates only.

These are additional body fluids that may transmit the virus that health care workers may come into contact with: this material has been taken from the Npin (National Prevention Information Network) website based in the US. A referral and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, STD's and TB. Go to the website for further information. This information was taken from the AVERT website, the AVERT site has detailed information on HIV and AIDS written in a very clear way.

Detectable antibodies usually develop within four weeks to three months of HIV infection. Some people have symptoms during this time. They are usually not severe. They include slight fever headaches fatigue muscle aches and swollen glands. These symptoms may last for a few weeks. There are usually no symptoms for a long time after the antibodies have developed with the current average span of asymptomatic HIV disease standing at just over ten years after point of infection.

All children should have their height and weight plotted on a standard growth chart as part of routine checkup visits with their physician. Children who are only as tall as other children two or more years younger than they are or whose growth rate slows down from a previously normal growth curve may require further testing for GHD. A pediatric endocrinologist or a physician who specializes in treating children with growth and hormone problems should be consulted to diagnose GHD.

HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell (CD4+ T cells) which is crucial to the normal function of the human immune system. In fact, loss of these cells in people with HIV is an extremely powerful predictor of the development of AIDS. Studies of thousands of people have revealed that most people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before enough damage is done to the immune system for AIDS to develop.

HIV impedes the proper functioning of the immune system which is our body's shield against disease. Individuals with the virus develop harmful conditions (called opportunistic infections) that don't usually affect other people. Some people develop symptoms shortly after being infected. For others it can take more than 10 years.

The smallpox virus is fragile. In laboratory experiments, 90% of aerosolized smallpox virus dies within 24 hours; in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light, this percentage would be even greater. If an aerosol release of smallpox occurs, 90% of virus matter will be inactivated or dissipated in about 24 hours. (added Nov 13, 2002)

No. The test for HIV can only tell you if you have been infected or not. Transmission of the virus does not necessarily occur every time exposure occurs. The only way for an individual to tell if he/she has been infected with HIV is to be tested. If you are unsure of your partner's status, you may want to consider talking to him/her about it and using protection (latex condoms or dental dams) to reduce your risk.

A risk of HIV transmission does exist if instruments contaminated with blood are either not sterilized or disinfected or are used inappropriately between clients. CDC recommends that instruments that are intended to penetrate the skin be used once, then disposed of or thoroughly cleaned and sterilized.

There is very high risk of when getting HIV when having a tattoo, if new set of tools are not used on each person. Since there will always be a tendency of blood stain when a tattoo is being impressed on someone, HIV can easily pass from the blood of an infected tattoo client to an uninfected person, if the same materials are being used for their services.

A - Saliva, Sweat, Tears, and Urine do not transmit HIV - But, semen, blood, and vaginal fluids do. Any activity that includes no direct contact with your partner’s semen, blood or vaginal fluids is safe. Activities that do involve direct contact with semen, blood, or vaginal fluids are risky. Any precautions that reduce the chance of direct contact with those fluids will make sex safer. A - Yes. That is why we have the term Safer Sex.