Lack of transmission of HIV through human bites and scratches
Report of small study following an HIV-positive man with severe brain damage and poor dental hygiene (causing bleeding gums) who was frequently violent to hospital staff. After 2.5 years follow up, all of the 30 people he’d bitten or scratched remained HIV-negative.
Spit Does Not Transmit: A Fact Sheet for Law Enforcement Personnel, The Center for HIV Law and Policy, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (2013)
This 2013 factsheet produced by the Center for HIV Law and Policy, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys provides current factual information about the HIV transmission risks law enforcement professionals may face in the line of duty (aiming to address the frequent overstating of risk). States there is no known case of a law enforcement officer being infected in the line of duty through spitting or biting.
Criminal prosecutions for non-disclosure of HIV: engaging with governmental health authorities to advocate for the development of prosecutorial guidelines in Quebec
Describes creation of a working group facilitating dialogue between the justice and public health authorities on the issue of criminalization. The working group called on the Justice Ministry to develop prosecutorial policies and guidelines. Governmental health authorities proved to be key allies in opening a dialogue with the Justice Ministry. Suggests that health authorities should play a central role in the development of prosecutorial policies and guidelines.
HIV Criminalization: A Physician’s Perspective
US physician, Dr Wendy Armstrong’s, first person account of the prosecution of one of her patients is a rare published work about HIV criminalization by a practicing HIV medical practitioner. The article walks the reader through Dr Armstrong’s experience as she is forced to testify against a patient in HIV criminalization proceedings.