Today is World AIDS Day, and many people are focused on awareness and support.
Unfortunately, a story about a 22-year-old Brazilian woman is shaking up our idea of how the virus can be contracted and spread. She was recently diagnosed with HIV, and it looks like she was infected by sharing unsterilized manicure equipment with her cousin, who was HIV positive.
When the woman donated blood for the first time last year and tested positive, she had no history of transmission risk factors, so medical professionals were stumped and tried to figure out how this could be.
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She denied ever having sex, which was confirmed by a gynecological examination, and her boyfriend of two years tested negative. Her mother was also negative, and was confirmed to be her biological mother. The woman had also never received a blood transfusion or surgery of any kind, nor did she have any piercings or tattoos, according to the report in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
Once the woman was diagnosed, it was revealed that she was in the advanced stages of the disease (indicated by a high viral load and low white blood cell count). Her HIV positive cousin shared manicure equipment with her about ten years ago, but even though her cousin had been diagnosed 17 years before, she apparently didn’t share that information.
With no other leads, the researchers decided to pursue this possibility and sequenced the viral genomes of both women. This revealed that the viruses were highly similar, indicating that they shared a common origin. Furthermore, when they traced the viral sequences back in time, they found that the estimated common ancestor date corresponded with the same year that they shared the tools.
As far as alternative sources of HIV is concerned, the CDC lists tattooing, acupuncture and piercing, but doesn’t include manicure equipment. This is an extremely rare case, but it’s not unreasonable to be concerned because viruses like hepatitis C can be spread the same way.
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This case serves as a stark reminder that people need to get tested for HIV, whether they think that they have engaged in risky behavior or not. In the U.S., it is estimated that almost 170,000 people are living with HIV but don’t know they are infected.
[Photo from flickr user Alessandra]
