Question:

Is it possible that HIV virus can survive for long in water?

Here is what happened:
I was washing my hands, face and put some water in my mouth and spit it out in a washbasin. When I finished I found that someone already washed , or got cut, on same washbasin as a few drops of water mixed with blood were on the steel tap. Might be that those drops had mixed with the water that I used for washing my hands and rinsing my mouth. Therefore, I want to know if there are there any chances of getting infected by using that water?

Answer provided by:

Peter Shalit, M.D.
Internal Medicine

It is very unlikely that HIV would remain viable or infectious for long in water. Plain water is a very inhospitable environment for this virus. In addition, if the virus did remain viable in this manner, then we would expect to see "household transmission" of HIV: cases in which a non-intimate household member contracts HIV from a housemate, via a contaminated water faucet or tap, towel, toothbrush, razor, eating utensil, etc. The fact is, no case of household transmission of HIV has ever been reported. So the situation you describe is highly unlikely to be a risk of transmitting HIV.

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