Question:

Hi, I recently went to Cambodia for a holiday. While I was there, I went for a manicure and was cut on my finger by the cuticle cutter/nail cutter. There was blood, and it took a while for the blood flow to stop. My worry is that the instrument is infected with HIV virus, since it is apparent that they do not clean the instruments after each use. How much time is it needed for the virus to die when exposed to air and in contact with a hard surface? Is the amount of blood that is possibly on the cuticle cutter enough to transmit the virus?

I am really worried about this, Could you advise me on the chances of being infected, or have anyone been infected with HIV so far in this circumstances? Thanks!

Answer provided by:

Mark H. Katz, M.D.
Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente of Southern California

You bring up a circumstance which is often asked about, but not much is really scientifically known about it. I would guess that it is very unlikely that the instrument was even exposed to HIV. The only way you will know for sure if you have HIV or not will be to take the antibody test, now and again at 3 months after the incident. The amount of blood--in the case where HIV is present in the blood--might have an impact on the likelihood of transmission.

There are numerous stories of infections occurring from unsterile needles in health care as well as recreational drug use settings, as you may know--but to my knowledge, there have not been infections from instruments such as this.

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