What is a significant risk of transmitting HIV?
A significant risk of transmitting HIV means a real and serious possibility of HIV being transmitted from one person to another. This includes:
- Contact with blood, blood products, semen, vaginal secretions, breast milk, or certain other body fluids of an HIV-positive person;
- Sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral) that exposes an uninfected person to these fluids;
- Sharing needles or drug-injection equipment between an HIV-positive person and an uninfected person;
- Transfusion of blood or transplantation of organs from an HIV-positive person to an uninfected person, where the blood or organs have not been properly tested or treated; and
- A pregnant or breastfeeding woman who is HIV-positive passing the virus to her infant.
The following are explicitly NOT considered significant risk:
- Exposure to urine, saliva, sweat, tears, or vomit that does not visibly contain blood;
- Human bites where there is no direct blood-to-blood contact;
- Touching intact skin even if exposed to blood; and
- Workplaces where proper universal precautions are being followed correctly.