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Does cerumen have a risk for transmission of HIV?

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Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is mainly transmitted via sexual activity, mother-to-child transmission, and contact with body fluids, such as saliva and semen. Cerumen, however, has not been investigated for its capability to transmit HIV. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of cerumen for transmission of HIV infection. This study was conducted among 42 treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with positive HIV RNA and 27 HIV-infected patients with negative HIV RNA receiving antiviral treatment. Simultaneous blood samples were studied as positive controls. Sixty-nine prospectively collected cerumen specimens were analyzed for the presence of HIV RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). None of the 69 cerumen specimens were positive for HIV RNA. These results conclude that cerumen in HIV-positive patients with or without antiretroviral therapy (ART) carry only an insignificant risk of transmission. However, standard infection control precautions should be applied carefully in all examinations and surgical operations of the ears.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Research Fund of Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Göztepe Training and Research Hospital, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    F. M. Hanege, M. T. Kalcioglu & M. Tekin

  2. Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Göztepe Training and Research Hospital, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    F. Sargin & H. Vahaboglu

  3. Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Goztepe Training and Research Hospital, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Z. Cetinkaya

Authors
  1. F. M. Hanege
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  2. M. T. Kalcioglu
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  3. F. Sargin
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  4. Z. Cetinkaya
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  5. M. Tekin
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  6. H. Vahaboglu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. T. Kalcioglu.

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Hanege, F.M., Kalcioglu, M.T., Sargin, F. et al. Does cerumen have a risk for transmission of HIV?. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 34, 789–793 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2292-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2292-7

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