Prevention of HIV infection
Kamat, J.; Kumta, N.B.
Indian Pediatrics 28(8): 961-964
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-6061 PMID: 1808093 Document Number: 312946
As of August 1991, 2167 people in India carried HIV. It is transmitted via sexual contact, the placenta, blood or blood product transfusions, sharing of needles, or any contact of raw tissues with infected blood or other body fluids. It is not transmitted by casual contact, breathing, or eating. Blood is the predominant infection source, yet HIV is also present in cerebrospinal fluid, pus, and other body fluids. 120 degrees Celsius and 2 atmospheric pressure in an autoclave or pressure cooker, dry heat of 170 degrees Celsius for 2 hours, or boiling in water for 20 minutes all destroy HIV. Chlorine can also destroy HIV and is relatively inexpensive and available. The Centre for AIDS Research and Control of the Indian Council of Medical Research advises health workers to quarantine AIDS patients or HIV positive patients in a separate ward identified by a sign (Biohazard--No Admission).. Health workers must wear protective aprons or gowns. When handling blood or other body fluids, they need to wear gloves and rinse them in chemical disinfectant before taking them off, and then once off, soaking them in the same disinfectant for 20 minutes. Health workers who have handled such body fluids must also thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water. Further they should not recap needles and burn the tip of disposable syringes to prevent their reuse. All needles and nondisposable syringes must either be soaked in a disinfectant for 20 minutes or destroyed in an incinerator. Physicians should always weigh the benefits and risks of performing invasive procedures. In the laboratory, technicians must wear full sleeved aprons, eye shields, masks, and gloves when collecting and testing samples. They should use a cotton plug in pipettes and disinfect the work area daily. The Centre also gives advice on special situations including blood spills, blood soiled linen and instruments, and autopsy.