Detection of the AIDS virus in saliva in 1984, & subsequently in tears, sparked immediate public concern. But further research has shown that the virus is never present in either. When it is, the quantity is minute�probably low, say most public-health specialists, to play a role in infection. Nevertheless, as a precaution, they still warn against deep kissing with an infected person & advise special procedures for eye-care & dental personnel, who are constantly exposed to tears or saliva.
No such precautions apply to contact with drinking glasses, eating utensils, eyeglasses, & the like. All proof shows that the risk from such items is nonexistent. The same is true for a typical friendly kiss.
Some parents of young schoolchildren also fear that a bite from an infected classmate might transmit the virus. Here again, the concern is unwarranted, specialists at the CDC say. The amount of virus in saliva�if any�is thought about minuscule to cause infection, in a single instance of biting.
There is no proof that the virus can be transmitted by food or by any variety of insect. Nurses who have administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to AIDS patients have not become infected. Nor have kids attending school with hemophiliac classmates who were infected. But possibly the strongest proof that the virus presents no threat in casual contact comes from studies in families.
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