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.

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.

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.

Hepatitis C is a virus that causes chronic inflammation of the liver and liver disease. About four to five million Americans have hepatitis C and more than 15,000 new cases develop each year.

Anyone can be infected with the hepatitis C virus. However, people most likely to be infected with the hepatitis C virus include individuals who: (1.) had a blood transfusion and or received an organ transplant such as kidney, lung, or heart, before effective screening began in July 1992; (2.) have been or are on long term kidney dialysis (hemodialysis); (3.) received treatment with a clotting factor concentrate manufactured before 1987; (4.) have ever injected illegal drugs, even once; (5.

Although HIV can survive outside the body for a few hours in certain bodily fluids, it cannot function when dry. The Virus cannot infect some one unless it enters the body.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is spread mostly from contact with infected blood, such as a blood transfusion (before 1992), kidney dialysis, or through injecting drug use. It is rarely sexually transmitted, although sex with multiple partners or a history of sexually transmitted diseases can put people at risk for it. The virus can enter the body through minor cuts or scrapes by razors, toothbrushes or on needles used for tattooing, body piercing or on materials used to snort drugs.

Generally the fragile nature of the virus prevents it from surviving for a substantial amount of time in the open air. The only studies on the survival of HIV outside the body have been conducted in the laboratory under controlled scientific conditions. These studies have found HIV is not affected by extreme cold, but it is destroyed by temperatures of 60 degrees centigrade and above.

In 1987, Michael Houghton and colleagues at Chiron Corporation in California discovered part of the genetic material of HCV using molecular recombinant technology. This discovery allowed the development of tests to detect specific antibodies. The first enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test made available in 1989 employed only a single recombinant protein to detect antibodies and produced a significant proportion of both false positive and false negative results.

Any Hepatitis C test checks your blood specimen for Hepatitis C antibodies. The body creates antibodies to Hepatitis C when an individual becomes infected by the virus. By testing blood for these antibodies, a laboratory tell if Hepatitis C is present.

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.

A positive antibody test could mean one of two things. It could mean that a person is infected with hepatitis C and is a chronic carrier. Or, it could mean that the person was infected with hepatits C but has cleared it from his or her body. An antibody test cannot tell anyone which of those two categories applies. Once infected, you will always have hepatitis C antibodies, and therefore will always test positive on a hepatitis C screening test.

Some people carry the virus in their bloodstream and may remain contagious for years. The disease may occur in the acute form and be followed by recovery, but the majority of the cases become chronic and cause symptoms for years.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is fragile. Once the virus is outside the body in a dry form, it dies immediately. Even in a wet state, it does not live long when exposed to heat, detergents, or disinfectants. When stored in blood banks at 4?C, it can live for about 3 weeks (or longer), or till the white cell disintegrates, but in a frozen state it can survive for years.

No. Not everyone with chronic hepatitis B needs to be on medication. Your doctor can help decide whether drug therapy would help you.