Post-Exposure Procedures: HIV

Characteristics: Retroviridae (Lentivirus); ss RNA, enveloped icosahedral nucleocapsid, glycoprotein envelope, reverse transcriptase

Incubation Period: Incubation period typically 2 weeks to 6 months

Symptoms: May have flu-like symptoms shortly after exposure. Insidious onset with non-specific symptoms such as lymphadenopathy, anorexia, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, fever, and fatigue; opportunistic infections and malignant diseases without a known cause for immune deficiency.

Laboratory-Acquired Infections: 5 reported laboratory acquired infections with HIV involving concentrated virus (splashing of infected materials, inapparent skin exposure, puncture wounds); 57 documented cases in health care workers worldwide.

What is a potential occupational exposure? Needlestick; puncture, or cut with a sharp object; contact with mucous membranes of the eye, nose or mouth; contact with broken skin.

Post-Exposure Treatment: Wash the exposed area with soap and water. If exposure occurs to eye or mucous membrane, flush thoroughly with water for 15 minutes. Report to the UM Health Center immediately. Antiretroviral therapy must be initiated as soon as possible after an exposure. If the Health Center is closed, report to the nearest emergency room. In addition to baseline HIV test, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B testing, chemistry profile and complete blood count, urinalysis and pregnancy test for females should be done.

Prevention: Biosafety level 2 facility with Biosafety level 3 practices and containment equipment for all work culturing HIV; extreme care when working with needles or other sharps - sharps should be used only when no alternative is available; care must be taken to avoid spilling and splashing infected materials - virus should be presumed in/on all equipment and devices coming in direct contact with infected materials; use aerosol-containing safety cups in centrifuge.

Reporting: Make note of the date and time of the incident and any relevant details. Inform your supervisor and a Biosafety Officer immediately. Fill out a First Report of Injury Form and also report incident to BSO at (301) 405-3960. BSO will need to report incident to NIH if recombinant organism was involved.

Note: Confidential HIV testing is available at the university Health Center at any time.

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