More HIV questions...

[StringJunky]

Well, considering that most of the time the cotton swabs are sterilized, it has a low chance of being infected, even if it was on purpose. And to answer your question, there is no chemical that can keep HIV alive for more than a few hours without specific lab conditions. Since the swab was probably packaged for days before you ever even saw it, ANY Hiv in it would have died. Furthermore, if it somehow did have trace amounts of hiv it wouldn't be enough to give you hiv unless you had a actively bleeding cut in your mouth at the time which you probably didn't considering you wouldn't have done the test with your OCD if you did, because that's the way most people with OCD as major as your case would do. Even if you didn't actively think about the cut, your subconscious probably would have never scheduled the appointment, or even canceled it if you had a cut. So your near the 99.9999995% chance of safety. And I actually calculated this just for you, so it better make you feel better.

I think that about nails it.

[Questions11]

I don't think I had any cuts in my mouth. I guess one of the things I am wondering about is how do they create the antigens that they place on the test? Do they have a science lab? Do you need to create a whole virus in order to create the antigens or can scientists create antigens without the virus? I guess one of my fears is that someone mistakenly or purposely could have put synthetic viruses on the actual test... Please enlighten me on this topic.

This is from their website:

 

"Nitrocellulose Pad: Contains: HIV 1 & 2 Peptides/Panel Members (Defibrinated), GP-36 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), GP-41 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), Modified Avidin (1405-69-02) and F(Ab)”2 Goat Anti-Human IgG (H+L) (N/A). Nitrocellulose Pad Concentration: Contains 0.01-0.1% concentration or less of the chemicals listed above. The mixture (in the concentration provided) is not known to be an OSHA hazardous chemical or other regulatory listed material. The mixture may cause skin and eye irritation upon contact in highly sensitive individuals. The material and its container should be disposed of in a safe way and in accordance with Local, State and Federal Regulations. No known or anticipated adverse health hazards are likely for the small amount of chemical mixture provided on this strip. Utilize Good Laboratory Practices. NOTE: Pad only contains HIV 1 & 2 peptides, there is no active/live virus contained within the product as offered to the public."

 

Can someone PLEASE explain what exactly these are??

Edited May 18, 2016 by Questions11

[StringJunky]

I don't think I had any cuts in my mouth. I guess one of the things I am wondering about is how do they create the antigens that they place on the test? Do they have a science lab? Do you need to create a whole virus in order to create the antigens or can scientists create antigens without the virus? I guess one of my fears is that someone mistakenly or purposely could have put synthetic viruses on the actual test... Please enlighten me on this topic.

This is from their website:

 

"Nitrocellulose Pad: Contains: HIV 1 & 2 Peptides/Panel Members (Defibrinated), GP-36 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), GP-41 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), Modified Avidin (1405-69-02) and F(Ab)”2 Goat Anti-Human IgG (H+L) (N/A). Nitrocellulose Pad Concentration: Contains 0.01-0.1% concentration or less of the chemicals listed above. The mixture (in the concentration provided) is not known to be an OSHA hazardous chemical or other regulatory listed material. The mixture may cause skin and eye irritation upon contact in highly sensitive individuals. The material and its container should be disposed of in a safe way and in accordance with Local, State and Federal Regulations. No known or anticipated adverse health hazards are likely for the small amount of chemical mixture provided on this strip. Utilize Good Laboratory Practices. NOTE: Pad only contains HIV 1 & 2 peptides, there is no active/live virus contained within the product as offered to the public."

 

Can someone PLEASE explain what exactly these are??

Edited May 18, 2016 by StringJunky

[Questions11]

String Junky,

I read that part and I understand that the test is not supposed to have a live virus in it. As I have stated, my fear is that someone could have mistakenly or purposely placed it in the test. Which is why I ask, how do these companies get access to the antigens they place on the test? I have been doing some research and it seems that peptides are synthetically made. Can one make the peptides (synthetic antigens I'm assuming) without making the whole virus? I'm afraid that if they are making the whole virus, that they could make mistakes when pulling out the antigens. What are these:HIV 1 & 2 Peptides/Panel Members (Defibrinated), GP-36 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), GP-41 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A)? Does anybody know the answer to this?

 

Basically, I am asking how does the ORASURE company create the antigens used in the test?? Or any other test that uses them. Can someone please explain this to me as I would feel much better if I knew they weren't producing whole viruses that could mistakenly end up on the test.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Questions11

[StringJunky]

. Can one make the peptides (synthetic antigens I'm assuming) without making the whole virus?

Science has not yet worked out the blueprint for creating life from scratch. They don't even know how life got started in the first place on Earth. You can allay that fear because no one is synthesising any form of life, let alone HIV.

 

I think you need Arete or CharonY (biology experts) to give you the lowdown on peptide manufacture.

Edited May 18, 2016 by StringJunky

[Questions11]

What are these:HIV 1 & 2 Peptides/Panel Members (Defibrinated), GP-36 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), GP-41 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A)? Also, what is "recombinant protein A"? Please someone who knows, answer.

[Arete]

What are these:HIV 1 & 2 Peptides/Panel Members (Defibrinated), GP-36 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A), GP-41 Peptide [biotinylated](N/A)? Also, what is "recombinant protein A"? Please someone who knows, answer.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide

 

Proteins that detect and bind to HIV antibodies. There is no HIV virus in an HIV test, nor any substantive risk of contracting HIV from having a test administered.

[Questions11]

Thank you for the reply! I have looked them up and I know what they are but I am interested in how they are made. The peptides and the protein A...Are they taken out of a live virus or are they chemically created (without the need of growing a virus in the lab)? I'm worried that someone could have mistakenly used a whole virus instead of just the antigens, but if the peptides and protein A are made without the need to make a whole virus, then it would make me feel a little better. Does anyone know the process of how peptides and recombinant protein A are made?

[Questions11]

I googled "panel members" and not sure how accurate but a google search led me to "plasma that is positive for hiv 1/2". Is this accurate??????? Are there ACTUAL VIRUSES on the test? If so are they inactivated and how would I know for sure that mistakenly (or purposely) the viruses aren't active??? Also, since LAB GROWN viruses can survive longer, does that mean they would remain active throughout manufacturing/shipping??? I wish I never took those tests!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raider5678]

That may be accurate, but theirs NO plasma in the test. Look, the only thing that touches your mouth is the cotton swab. The other vials are securely protected and separated from the cotton swab, and if they DID manage to break, the doctor wouldn't have used them. If they had been placed on the cotton swab, you could pump gallons of the stuff into a bath tub, hop in, and not have a remote chance of getting hiv. They also don't use lab grown viruses to make the peptides, they are amino acids that bond easily to HIV, which makes them detect if there is HIV in your bodily fluids. And by the way, they wouldn't be able to survive manufacturing and shipping unless it became airborne, which it HASN'T, Just to be clear. So someone with HIV could have licked that thing, and you could have almost no chance of catching it. And since it wasn't licked, obviously, you are next to guaranteed to have not gotten it. Also, stop researching HIV, and anything related to it. That's feeding your OCD and making you scared about things that couldn't have happened.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Raider5678

[Arete]

I googled "panel members" and not sure how accurate but a google search led me to "plasma that is positive for hiv 1/2". Is this accurate??????? Are there ACTUAL VIRUSES on the test? If so are they inactivated and how would I know for sure that mistakenly (or purposely) the viruses aren't active??? Also, since LAB GROWN viruses can survive longer, does that mean they would remain active throughout manufacturing/shipping??? I wish I never took those tests!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Viruses are not used to synthesize peptides. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide_synthesis

There are no viruses in an HIV test.

Even if they were, they would only survive, at best, a few hours in solution.

Even if they didn't disintegrate in a few hours, without an open wound in your mouth, the infection risk would be negligible.

Even if you did have an open wound in your mouth, and the swab had active HIV viruses on it, the risk of infection would be less than 1 in 500.

 

The risk of contracting HIV from an HIV test conducted via a cheek swab is so imperceptibly small being struck by lighting on a cloudless sunny day is probably several orders of magnitude more likely.

[Questions11]

It really means a lot that you're trying to help a stranger with severe OCD on the internet. It has helped me feel better and I appreciate your kindness.

[Arete]

As a long term sufferer of generalized anxiety and associated imposter syndrome, I appreciate that some rationalization can help you with your stress disorder. There's no shame in getting help. Good luck.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Arete

[Questions11]

Thank you! Unfortunately, as I looked into "panel members" more, I read that they are plasma that is positive for hiv 1 and 2, which leads me to believe that there are actual viruses on the test stick. The Oraquick website says that there are no live/active viruses on the test, so I'm assuming these are inactivated viruses but I feel very uneasy about there being viruses on the test. Worst case scenario, if these viruses were active and somehow "slipped" from the test stick (which I'm assuming is an airtight environment) down to the test pad while swabbing the gums, would this be a risk? Please tell me I would have nothing to worry about even in the worst case scenario. My fear is that somehow there would be active viruses on the test pad which I used to swab my gums. This is what the test stick looks like: http://www.oraquick.com/What-is-OraQuick/How-Oral-Testing-Works

 

I am not concerned about the peptides but I am concerned about the panel members.

[zoe winslet]

• HIV is sensitive to high temperatures but not to extreme cold. Experiments have shown that HIV is killed by heat, but temperatures over 60°C are needed to achieve reliable killing of HIV.
  Levels of virus remain relatively stable in blood at room temperature, and HIV may persist for at least a week in dried blood at 4°C. Blood containing HIV used for laboratory experiments is stored at –70°C without any loss of viral activity.
  HIV may survive for up to four weeks in syringes after HIV-infected blood has been drawn up into the syringe and then flushed out.3 A study of blood gathered from more than 800 syringes filled with small amounts of HIV-infected blood and stored for various periods found that HIV could be isolated from 10% of syringes after eleven days where the quantity of blood was less than 2µl, but 53% of syringes where the quantity of blood was 20µl. Longer survival of HIV was also associated with lower storage temperature (less than 4°C); at higher temperatures (27 to 37°C) survival was not detected beyond seven days.
  HIV is very sensitive to changes in alkalinity or acidity – pH level – and pH levels below 7 or above 8 are unsuitable for long-term survival of HIV. One reason why HIV transmission may be less likely in healthy women is due to the acidity of vaginal secretions.
  HIV may survive in dried blood at room temperature for up to five or six days provided that the optimum pH level is maintained; drying of blood does not seem to affect the infectivity of HIV.
  Sewage is highly unlikely to pose a risk because infectious HIV has never been isolated from faeces or urine.5 However, research by Thames Water has shown that HIV can survive for several days in sewage in the laboratory.
  HIV does not survive as long as other viruses in sea water.
  Infectious HIV has been recovered from human corpses between eleven and 16 days after death in bodies stored at the usual mortuary temperature of 2°C. It is unclear how long infectious HIV may persist in corpses left to decay at normal room temperature, but HIV has been cultured from organs stored at 20°C up to 14 days after death. HIV was not detected in significant quantities later than 16 days, implying that buried corpses or those preserved for long periods pose less of a risk to undertakers and pathologists.
  No studies have investigated the survival of HIV in semen outside the body as such, but studies which have sought to culture HIV from semen in the laboratory have often found it difficult to do so, indicating the low quantities often present in semen.

Edited June 28, 2016 by zoe winslet