Toothbrush exposure

Dr,
merry xmas and happy new yr. I have read some of your postings and they are very informative, however I couldn't find anything miroring my situation. I am a 28 yr old man, heterosexual, did my full blood tests a couple of months ago and thank God everything came back negative, but my situation in this case is not sexual and i wanted to know the risk if any. I may be overeacting but trying to eliminate all scenarios. I am originally from egypt, and came to visit my brother during the break. here is my situation. My brother has a sudanese man who works as a housekeeper, and one night about 10 days ago, i went to brush my teeth about 7-8 hrs after the sudanese man had cleaned the bathroom and my toothbrush was still wet though i hadnt brushed my teeth since the morning. I didnt think much of it till i had finished. I didnt see anything weird on my brush, no blood or anything like that. I threw the toothbrush right after, and i may have used that toothbrush 2-3 times before throwing it, and since then have been using a different toothbrush every time he comes, since they always seem wet after he leaves. I also got a bad cold within that time frame, a sore throat, a cough, feeling of weakness but no fever that i can tell of, though to be fair, the cold had started with my brother and he had passed it on to me. I also got a one day case of diahrea but it has subsided. I know the odds are low that this man would have done such a thing and I don't want to prejudge anything. What worries me is that I know the Sudan does have a high rate of aids, and the thought crossed my mind. I dont know anything about this man, regarding his history or health. From a medical pt of view am i at any risk to contract hiv if the man used my toothbrush, though as i said i did not see any blood on it and i used it 7-8 hrs after he came. I did see you answering questions regarding razors but none with a case similar to mine.I dont mean this to come out the wrong way, and dont want to confront this man until i have all my facts straight and eliminate all plausible scenarios. Last thing i want to do is offend someone who has only done his job.
Thanks and i appreciate your patience.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

There are no data on toothbrushes as a risk for HIV transmission.  There is a theoretical risk, and certainly nobody should share toothbrushes with known HIV infected people.  Still, the risk of transmission for any single such exposure undoubtely is too low to measure.  Your symptoms don't suggest HIV at all, and anyway symptoms NEVER are a reliable indicator of new HIV infection in settings like this.

If your anxieties won't be calmed otherwise, you can either discuss your fears with the gentleman whose toothbrush you might have shared; or just have an HIV test after 4-6 weeks.  But you really have no significant worries over this event.

Happy holidays--   HHH, MD

[peekawho]

No risk of HIV.