Hva om en HIV-smittet klatrer blør på taket, og du klatrer den samme ruta med et kutt på fingeren? Svaret finnes kanskje hos UIAA når de nå har samlet det meste av informasjon om temaet på sine nettsider.
Følgende står å lese:
«What is the risk of blood-borne infections being transmitted to climbers? The UIAA Medical Commission attempts to answer this vital question in its latest advice paper.
“Sustaining cuts, abrasions or lacerations, typically on the fingertips in contact with holds, is a common occurrence in climbing,” say the medical experts in the document, the most recent recommendations document to be published on the UIAA website.
The Medical Commission reminds climbers of the seriousness of blood-borne infections, with millions of people suffering from HIV, and hundreds of millions with either hepatitis B or C.
“In spite of antiviral treatments presently available for HCV and HBV, acute or chronically affected individuals are often left untreated as they are asymptomatic until liver disease morbidity and mortally occur after 10 to 20 years. Once symptoms develop, antiviral drugs can only slow down the damage done, not reverse it.”
The medical experts warn that “the transmission risk of HBV is known to be high among athletes in contact or collision sports, injecting drug users, those who live or visit endemic regions, and those giving first aid without appropriate protection. The number of blood borne infections transmitted is postulated to increase among athletes.”»
