For Workers
- My friend just informed me that one of his/her co-workers has HIV. What should I do?
There is no danger in working with someone who is HIV infected or who has AIDS. You cannot become infected through everyday work activities with an infected co-worker.
Remember that HIV cannot be transmitted through casual contact. A person cannot become infected with HIV from a handshake, a sneeze, a hug, or from sharing cups and dishes, tools, telephones, computer keyboards, bathroom facilities, or drinking fountains. You cannot simply "catch" HIV from air, food, water, insects, or animals.
The Manager's Kit and other educational materials described on this site will be helpful. You also can visit the Resources and Services Database for appropriate agencies and organizations in your area to help you educate yourself and your staff/workers about HIV and AIDS.
The ADA's Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers at 1-800-949-4232 can provide assistance if you do have an HIV-infected worker.
- I work in a beauty salon. Do I have to worry about HIV?
You should not worry, but you should educate yourself about how HIV is transmitted and how you can prevent transmission in your salon.
For your personal safety, if you have an open sore or broken skin on your hands, you should wear latex or vinyl gloves during contact with customers until the wound has healed. This is of special importance if you have eczema (allergic skin). If you have fever blisters or cold sores around or on your face, avoid touching those areas.
Instruments that can penetrate the skin or become contaminated with blood, such as ear-piercing devices; needles used for electrolysis, tattooing, and acupuncture; and razors, cuticle scissors, and tweezers should be sterilized or thrown away after one use.
- My co-worker just cut himself and there is blood on the workbench. Can I catch HIV/AIDS if I touch his blood?
Avoid direct contact with someone else's blood. Use a barrier, such as a clean cloth, or wear disposable latex, nitrile, or vinyl gloves to protect yourself. Wash your hands with soap and water after you have discarded the barrier item (cloth or gloves).
- How long can blood sit on a computer keyboard before HIV dies? Can I catch the virus if I use the keyboard two hours after someone got blood on it?
The HIV virus is very fragile and does not survive well outside the human body. You cannot catch HIV from a computer keyboard, toilet seat, water fountain, etc.
HIV is spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles and/or syringes (primarily for drug injection) with someone who is infected, or, less commonly (and now very rarely in countries where blood is screened for HIV antibodies), through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth.
- I accidentally picked up my co-worker's drink and drank it after she did. She has HIV-do I need to be tested?
No. HIV is not transmitted by day-to-day contact in the workplace, schools, or social settings. HIV is not transmitted through shaking hands, hugging, or a casual kiss. You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, a drinking fountain, a doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets.
- I work in the police department and frequently I have to search pockets of people that frequent injection drug hangouts. How can I protect myself?
Follow safety rules, such as use of protective equipment, at all times. Protective equipment includes latex or vinyl gloves. In addition, always ask the person being searched if he or she has any sharp items in his or her possession before you perform the search.
- My boss is sending me on a business trip to Africa but I'm afraid to go because of the HIV/AIDS situation there. Am I justified?
There is no need for concern about a business trip to Africa. Keep in mind that HIV is transmitted only by exchange of body fluids during sexual intercourse, intravenous drug use, or from a mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breast-feeding.
- My business has offices overseas. What are the company's responsibilities for the workers to protect them from, educate them about, and provide treatment for HIV/AIDS?
Each company handles this differently depending on the company capabilities. It is important to educate the workers and managers about HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted, so that staff/workers will know they do not need to worry about contracting the virus at work. Workplace policies and programs are good ways of educating staff/workers. Treatment is more complicated and will depend a lot on the medical aid scheme your company provides. For more information, please contact the Business and Labor Resource Service at 1-877-242-9760.
Get more information on HIV & AIDS Education for employees and workers.
