How long can HIV virus survive outside blood?

 Answered by:  Dr Anuj Sharma    |  World Health Organization,
Country Office for India,
New Delhi

Q: Why is it said that the HIV virus dies once it is outside the body? All viruses become inactive once outside the body - is that not so, and moreover, as far as I know a virus never dies and can always get into its reproduction mode once inside the host cell. So, in this regard I want to know that if suppose I put a drop of HIV infected blood on a slide, keep it exposed for some time, say a couple of hours, and then if I bring an open wound in contact with the dried blood, will the person get infected with HIV?

A:HIV is a relatively fragile virus and is susceptible to drying, which means that it dies easily when exposed to environmental conditions outside the body. On the other hand, Hepatitis B virus is comparatively more hardy virus capable of tolerating more adverse conditions. Also, the blood required to transmit Hepatitis B is one thousandth that required for transmitting HIV. Though usually, the HIV virus dies off within 30 minutes outside the body, some experiments have shown that it can survive for 3 days outside the body, if the initial viral load was high, and not directly exposed to the environment. The risk of HIV infection from a needle suspected to be contaminated with HIV is between 0.2% and 0.5%, estimated on the basis of a number of studies of occupational exposure to HIV in the hospital setting. The risk is increased with higher viral load, which is related to the amount of blood introduced. There are many other variables (apart from volume of blood and viral load) that affect the transmission of HIV - the size of the needle, the depth of penetration and whether or not blood was injected are important considerations. It is difficult to answer the theoretical question without more concrete details.

How long does HIV live outside the body in blood. Some info says 30 secs other go as far as to say hours.

Can HIV come alive and infectious if dried and then gets wet again?

I know that this seems like a weird question but I do have a legitimate reason for asking.

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

To answer your question, please see a similar question by following this link.

It is difficult to put an exact time on how long HIV can live outside the body as it depends on many factors. In general, HIV cannot live outside the body for more than a few minutes even in optimum conditions.

Once blood is dried, even if it becomes wet again, HIV will not become infectious again.

12 comments

1. Josh Peasegood • 24 June 2022

   Hi John, there is no risk of transmission.

   Please follow this link for more information: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing

2. John • 24 June 2022

   Hi
   When swim in dead sea i am touched the vagina of girl for less than 5 sec under the water and don’t make any thing just touching
   And I don’t think i am touched any vaginal fluid then after 2 min i am touched scratched in my shoulder because the cord in sea does this make me at risk for HIV ??
   And need to make any test ??

3. Josh Peasegood • 18 February 2022

   Hi Tekan, there are too many variables to answer this question. Time of blood drying can be impacted by the surface it is on, the temperature of the room, how much blood there is, the environment of where the blood is…What is more important here is that HIV cannot live for more than a few minutes outside of the body. Not if the blood is dried or not.

4. tekan • 18 February 2022

   How long does it take blood to dry outside the body??

5. Roy Trevelion • 19 February 2020

   Hi Patrck,

   As Charlotte says, In general, HIV cannot live outside the body for more than a few minutes even in optimum conditions.

   Please see this link to ways that HIV is not transmitted.

   However, in this case it looks like there was no blood or sexual fluid to transmit HIV.

6. patrck • 19 February 2020

   I would like to know how long does HIV survive in wet blood while outside the body like on condom after sex. Does the HIV virus die when the blood has dried up outside the body or even in wet form the virus dies outside the body?

   suppose lady had a knife cut on her finger two days ago, the wound does not have blood but that raw meat can be seen, after washing her hands, the wound looked wet with water but blood was not there but that meat is seen. and then this lady touches your head’s penis or uretha. does this pose HIV transmission to a man?

   The HIV virus dies instantly if it comes into contact with oxygen. Some people think that they can get infected with the HIV virus if they come in contact with an object or surface that may have had the HIV-infected blood or semen on it, but that is not accurate.

   HIV Virus Survival

   The HIV virus can only survive outside the body if the temperature is below 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Room temperatures do not let the virus thrive and it will die very quickly. The virus can also only survive in a pH level between 7.0 and 8.0. The only probability of the virus surviving for a few days is if it’s in lab conditions, and even then, it can last for a maximum of six days with very low concentrations.

   The HIV virus may be an actual risk once it’s outside the body under four conditions. First, HIV can only thrive in certain body fluids, which include semen, blood, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. Second, in order to get infected, there must be an entry point for the virus to get into the bloodstream. This can happen either through sex, blood transfusions before 1986, sharing needles, etc. Unlike common perception, HIV can’t get through unbroken skin. Also, a scrape, abrasion, or prick will not penetrate deep enough to allow infection. There also must be a large enough quantity of the virus in the right body fluid to get infected.

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