 A 22-year-old Brazilian woman was infected with HIV after sharing manicure tools with her cousin, in a rare case of disease transmission, reported Counsel & Heal. The woman discovered she was HIV-positive after getting tested to donate blood, according to FOX News. She said she had not had unprotected sex or shared needles, behaviors that are often risk factors for HIV transmission, according to a report in the November edition of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. She did, however, share manicure equipment with a cousin, who was later found to be HIV-positive. This transmission of HIV by shared manicure equipment is a very rare event that should serve not to make people fear HIV or contact with HIV-infected people,” study authors said in a press release. Study authors noted that the case should make people aware that sharing utensils with possible blood-to-blood contact— such as needles used for drugs, tattoos or acupuncture— can result in transmission of viruses such as hepatitis C and HIV, and that other common viruses can be spread by sharing improperly disinfected equipment. "HIV is not transmitted by casual contact, such as sharing eating utensils, or drinking from the same water glass," said Brian Foley, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses basic sciences editor. There is a "negligible" risk of infection from biting, spitting, throwing body fluids or sharing sex toys, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
– More than a decade ago, a young Brazilian girl did what many girls do: She got a manicure. Now 22, the unidentified woman recently found out she's HIV-positive when she went to donate blood—and a study of her situation points to the manicure instruments she used 11 years ago, the New York Daily News reports. The study published in the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal says that the woman used her older cousin's manicure gear when she was a child, Medical Daily reports; the cousin was later found out to be HIV-positive. After the 22-year-old's recent blood donation turned up an HIV diagnosis, doctors realized they had to go further back in her history than they anticipated: Her bloodwork revealed a "high viral load," which means the infection had been there for a long time, Fox News reports. The likely baffled patient told doctors she hadn't had unprotected sex or shared needles with anyone, the most typical risk factors for HIV transmission, the CDC reports. Genetic testing on both the woman and her cousin showed they shared a "common viral ancestor" that dates back about 11 years and coincides with the cousin sharing her instruments. Although the study's authors warn that sharing "utensils with possible blood-blood contact" (a group that also includes tattoo or acupuncture needles) without proper disinfection can up the risk for contracting HIV and other diseases, it's not clear if this patient had blood-to-blood contact. The study's authors says it's a "very rare event that should serve not to make people fear HIV or contact with HIV-infected people." (Some fear a certain kind of manicure can cause cancer.)