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Frequently Asked Questions - General

Can I get HIV from sharing things on the job like equipment, phones, toilets or other materials? HIV does not live long outside the body. An infected person sharing pencils, using the same phone or handling the same equipment with others cannot transmit it to another person. It is not airborne, so working closely in a confined space cannot transmit it. A person coughing and sneezing also cannot transmit it.

Can HIV be passed through kissing? HIV is not transmitted casually, so kissing on the cheek is very safe. Even if the other person has the virus, your unbroken skin is a good barrier. No one has become infected from such ordinary social contact as dry kisses, hugs, and handshakes.

However, prolonged open-mouth kissing between partners with open sores or bleeding gums from gingivitis or periodontal disease can allow HIV to pass from an infected person to a partner and by entering the body through cuts or sores in the mouth.

Can HIV be transmitted by mosquitos? No, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect and, unlike organisms that are transmitted via insect bites, HIV does not reproduce (and does not survive) in insects. Thus, even if the virus enters a mosquito or another insect, the insect does not become infected and cannot transmit HIV to the next human it bites.