In an astounding piece from the Armenian News Agency, it is claimed that “A person cannot be infected with AIDS with a needle”!

The Head of the Armenian AIDS Prevention Centre, Janetta Petrosyan, commenting on incidents where persons are striking individuals with a needle as they pass in crowded public spaces, it is said with some authority that this cannot transmit HIV infection.

It is unlikely, and as stated the HIV virus does not survive drops in temperature, exposure to sunlight or ozone, or desiccation well. With further limitations on transmissibility by the volume of blood present and how fresh that blood is, the concentration of virus particles in the blood (virus titre), the type of needle (hollow or solid), the depth of injury, and first aid measures together with the efficacy of post-exposure prophylaxis, if indicated, HIV transmission is indeed perhaps unlikely.

However, it cannot be overlooked that in such circumstances there are other nasty virus agents that are far more infective and easily transmitted such as Hepatitis C. Thus, bold statements that HIV cannot be transmitted by a sharps injury of this type seem scientifically unfounded and clinically misleading, since it may dissuade affected individuals from seeking medical assistance and follow-up.

With HIV and Hep B/C on the rise in Armenia, if Petrosyan is so sure of this perhaps she would like to try it herself. It’s a risk not worth taking, which harks back to the earlier AIDS prevention slogan, ‘Don’t die of ignorance’.