HIV incident.. Help

[monaval15]

I work in a hospital and on Sunday June 10,2018 I got a lab accident some plasma (unknown patient) splash on my face  and that same day a patient in the ER tested HIV positive, when the plasma splash some of it got near my nose. I wash my face right away and clean my face and nose with alcohol. what are the chances of contracting HIV from this incident..thanks for your help, Mona

[mkh9]

Hi and I'm so very sorry you had this accident. I know it is very scary. I am a microbiologist and have had a couple of similar incidents. I got splashed with a tube of serum in my face (eyes nose and inside my mouth) when I was working in the lab years ago. I also, got stuck by a needle with a positive HIV patient. So for my exposure it was about 1 in 1000 chance of getting HIV from that incident. So it is scary but pretty low. I was tested and came out negative. But yours it is hard to know if you got it in your nose or not. I wouldn't take a chance and I would get tested. You may not have gotten it in your nose like I did. So you may be "luckier" than I was. Did you report it to your work HR or Safety department? You should notify whomever deals with that and/ or tell your supervisor, so you could get tested. If you haven't you should report it immediately. Also, there is a small risk of Hepatitis. Have you been vaccinated wit the Hepatitis B vaccine? Have you had the 3 shots? If so you don't have a risk for that. The risk for Hepatitis is a little higher than HIV if you actually  got it in your nose. Since you don't know I would err on the side of caution. See the workman's comp. doctor.  
Let me know if you have any questions. It sounds like you are probably okay but you can't assume anything with this since you can't see if the droplet got in your nose. It can be very small.
Regards,
mkh9

[monaval15]

thanks for your answer. Yes I have the three Hepatitis B vaccines. Once it happened I reported to my supervisor and got blood drawn for the baseline. I work in a reference lab also and the molecular supervisor told me I can do HIV RNA test in 9-11 days after exposure and I am doing that and also after two weeks they can do the 5th gen HIV test so I am doing both and hoping for the best. its just really scary because my fiancé and I are trying to conceived and this not good right now for both of us. I know that HIV dies once it outside the host and in contact with air but its still scary and as I don't know if it was his plasma that splash I am still worried.

[mkh9]

Hi, I'm glad you had the Hepatitis B vaccine. I think you should get tested for Hepatitis C too. It is a good idea.  Were you immune after the Hepatitis B shots? Meaning did you get your blood tested for the antibody after? How long has it been since you were last vaccinated? As for the HIV test. That is good you got a baseline and yes it is good to get tested at around 10 days. Instead of two weeks after the test says to do it at 28 days after. So that should be good to cover you for HIV 1 and 2. Since you are trying to conceive you may want to test for Syphilis. I think it is possible. They don't usually test for this though. I don't actually know how long you need to wait for conversion for that. Maybe a month? I would ask a doctor I don't really know if you can get it that way to be honest. It should be all negative. I will think good thoughts.
mkh9

[monaval15]

Thank you so much for the advice and concern. I just want a little bit it ease in this situation, I’m really freaking out and the wait for two weeks is going to be so long and so nerve wracking I feel like I’m getting myself sick..

[mkh9]

You probably weren't even exposed. But you have to check anyway. I understand your fear. It is unlikely that you got anything.  
mkh9

[monaval15]

I hopefully was not expose to anything. I’m trying to keep positive but it’s so hard. I have a quick question i read and in classes I learned that the HIV virus dies within minutes when it’s outside the host and expose to air. Would the virus will be active if the patient got tested at 4pm and the incident happened around 9-10pm and would it still be active in the plasma ?

[mkh9]

It is best to not come up with lots of scenarios. It will only make you more stressed. HIV "dies" quickly on dry surfaces.  I found this "HIV can survive for only a short while in blood spills (minutes to hours). This all depends on the temperature and the volume of blood or liquid and the amount of HIV present in the liquid." So was the blood at room temperature, refrigerated, or frozen? If room temperature it is possible the amount in the tube would be less or hard to know. You also may not have gotten it in your nose. So try to calm down as much as you can. I hope all will be okay..

[monaval15]

The blood was a room temperature for all that times I just want everything to be okay.. I have had splashes before but I feel this time knowing there was a HiV patient is what is driving me crazy..

[mkh9]

I know it is hard to wait for your results. Hang in there!

[monaval15]

Hey I tested on June 22, I had the hiv rna pcr and it come out negative and then I did the same day a 5th gen hiv combo and I was negative, I know I have to get tested again but do you think I can have got infected eventho the test where negative would they ever become positive?

[mkh9]

Hi, As I mentioned on your message that I think you are negative. That is such great news! It was about 10 days from your incident right? So, then I would still do another 5 generation at about 28-30 days after the incident that will clear you. Are you going to get tested for Hepatitis also or anything else. I doubt you will change your result after that but the P28 antigen and the antibody will peak around the 28-30 mark. So that will cover both. The P28 antigen is good at about 10 days though. So I think that is great. PCR is also very sensitive. It is certainly an excellent sign that you probably weren't infected. Let me know how the final one goes just to follow up.
mkh9