rare exposure please read

i was working with freeze dried plasma and may have inhaled a tiny amount because the stuff was a powder and easily became airborne (now work wants me tested).  i was wondering, since hepatitis is a more resilient virus (than say, hiv), am i at a significant risk for catching it? i know inhalation drug users can catch it.  anyone know the odds of catching it in this manner (Inhalation)?  thanks a lot for any help.

p.s. what is the window period of being infected but not showing? i ask because the plasma was tested negative, but it came from a pool of up to 100,000 donors, so it's likely someone slipped through

p.p.s. technical stuff (if ANYONE knows anything about this, please respond): the plasma is precipitated in caprylic acid, which i believe mostly inactivates enveloped viruses, can i count on this, plus the freezing/drying and diluted plasma (from lots of people) to eliminate enough to make the amount i inhaled unlikely to cause infection?

[Forseegood]

I'm not positive, but I thought stomach acids killed this virus, this is a virus where contracting it depends on the exchange of *blood* from person to person......a possible way to get it by inhaling it....Is say by means of a cocaine staw...I should think that would be dependent on the fact that a person's nasal passages were bloody, as well as the person they were borrowing the straw from, and they'd have to stick the straw up their nose, (I should think) I remember keeping the straw down from my nose, thankfully, cause I thought it was gross to stick the straw up you nose...

I remember my younger sister snorting 1/4 of Columbia, her nose bridge actually caved in and she had to have it operated on....and yet she still she didn't contract this disease, though she shared MANY coke straws... getting off track here...I just don't remember you mentioning blood in your scenario...

[terrified7]

yeah, the only blood would be from the plasma i was working with, i thought maybe it could enter through alveoli in the lungs (a direct path to the bloodstream).  that's assuming it made it all the way to the lungs.  you may be right about the need for a bleeding nasal cavity on my part.  does anyone know the odds of getting hep from non-bleeding mucous membranes, or know the odds/risk involved if the particles make it to the lungs.

thanks!

[Forseegood]

that's a tall order, you do realize we're mostly laymen here?...have you asked a doctor about this? even the experts seem to debate a few of these transmission questions...some supposed "tranmission" modes are not completely definitive, because of a number of factors (they get much of their transmission data from questionarres from patients, not a completely reliable source)...just my wild hunch? from a non-expert? I shouldn't think you had much to worry about, this is for the most part an exchange of blood illness from the little that I know...I'm fuzzy on the details of how long it takes to become infected, others would know more on that... like I said, I'm a non-expert...good luck with this, don't let it totally freak you out till you know a lot more by proper testing, etc...I know, easier said then done...be well...

[lackalustre]

im thinking you dont need to worry because it is spread thru bloodstream.  not swallowed (or inhaled)      but to ease your mind you may need to wait a few months then get tested.  
    

[pigeonca]

Supposedly one can get syphilis from a toilet seat, but it's highly unlikely.

[Upbeat]

It seems to me if you can get it with a shared coke straw . It might be possible

                                                                                                          Ron

[Forseegood]

I probably wasnt very clear in my post, I didn't mean to infer that it's impossible to get it with a coke straw, only that I know of many people who snorted coke (perhaps too many? lol) who hadn't contracted it that way, because they never came down with the virus...but of course, it's possible...hope youre well...

[GrandmaA]

I think the incubation period is 3 mos.

[SonicBandaid]

Hi terrified7,
It is extremely unlikely you would catch HCV (or any other hepatitis virus) in this way.  Even if the virus was present in the plasma (and I take your point about some possibly slipping through) it is unlikely to be infectious as an aerosol like this.  Why do I say this? Epidemiologically there is little evidence people exposed to significant plasma aerosols known to contain hepatitis viruses (eg Dentists) will contract the viruses in this way. Secondly, even those exposed to HCV through needlestick incidents have a very low risk (<1%) chance of becoming infected.

Nonetheless, from an Occupational Health and Safety perspective, you should have the blood tests for HCV, HIV and HBV repeated at 3, 6 and probably 12 months.  I'd also stronly suggest both HBV and HAV vaccination, not because you are at risk because of this incident, but because they are safe vaccine and will obviate any risk to you from these preventable diseases.