The skin of her hand was unbroken, yet she became infected with HIV and died of complications of AIDS some 10 or 15 years later. The Internist had grown up with the nurse and knew her personal history quite well. She had no history of risky behaviour other than work in a large city E.R.
That's really unusual. I know you can get stuck by HIV/AIDS needles and rarely can contract the disease unless a suitable amount of blood is actually in the needle's shaft. At least that's what the CEU packet on HIV/AIDS that my mother got one year said. I'm sure that's up for debate, though.
Wonder how she contracted it, though. Maybe something to do with the finger nail region along the cuticle. Must've been a lot of blood on her hands with a high enough viral count to transfer to her. Sad story.
Rabies is something I don't ever want to get. Those shots sound horrible.
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