The risk of transmission in this way is probably really low. There’s more information here: https://www.hepb.org/blog/hepatitis-b-and-your-neighborhood-pool/
Cheers,
Thomas
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Hello everyone!
I have a silly question (just double checking to ease my mind). I cut myself with a friend’s swiss army knife. My first thought was to buy him a new one but this one was gift.
I was wondering how much time should I immerse it in undiluted bleach to be 100% sure that there is no danger if he cut himself in the future. Is one hour long enough? Should I use undiluted bleach or water helps in activating the sterilizing abilties of bleach? Should I follow up with something else?
I know I’ve asked this question before but given that this is a knife and the risk of cuting himself with it in the future is reasonably high, I am just checking to make sure that I don’t mess things up.
Best,
Drew
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Hi @Drew_rous,
As mentioned above, warm soapy water is sufficient to inactivate the virus. Undiluted bleach is much, much more likely to damage the blade and cause pitting, which means more gunk can get stuck in there and limits the use of the tool.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
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Hello @ThomasTu,
I understand that but I would be much more comfortable using bleach. I know I am overacting but immersing it in bleach makes me feel sure that there is no chance I didn’t wash it well enough.
Sorry for spamming you but in that case what would be the appropriate time that needs to stay in the bleach? Is one hour enough?
Best,
Drew
Diluted household bleach disinfects within 10–60 minutes contact time
I understand your concerns, but using such a strong agent could damage the blade and make it more dangerous for the user (not only make it less sharp, but the pitting could make it more likely to be contaminated by other things). We have provided suggestions above of what would inactivate hep B coming from a scientific lab where we measure these things with very high sensitivity.
TT
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Hello, I have a little concern about spreading the virus. I’m have chronic hepb, how do I treat my clothes with bloodstains on it? Can normal washing cycle from washing machine kill the virus?
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Hi @Mia ,
Transmission from dried blood stains on clothing is highly unlikely. Although HBV is stable in the environment for several days, it requires an open wound (cut) for transmission to occur. However you can do the following for your own peace of mind:
- Treat the blood stain with 30% hydrogen peroxide until it stops foaming.
- For colored clothing you can use hot water with detergent and a non-bleach oxidizer (like oxiclean).
- For white clothing you can use hot water with detergent and bleach.
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Agree with all of @availlant points, and indeed as mentioned above, a washing cycle with detergent is likely to inactivate the virus.
Thomas
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Hi, Thomas
@ThomasTu
In regards to dried blood stain on cloth, my understanding is even a cold washing cycle with ordinary detergent would inactivate the virus. What if the stain is not removed though? I mean, the washing is done, but the stain is still there. Could there still be virus in that stain, even though it’s been through a cold wash with detergent?
Thank you.
StarR
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Hi @StarR,
Please refer to my other post:
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Hi everyone, new here under this general topic of deactivating hep b, with the same logic that applies to your hands and using a surfactant, could you also use any off the shelf dish soap in a large soapy quantity with water to clean your kitchen counters. Would this be enough to disrupt the lipid envelope/barrier and make it non-infectious? I am just trying to learn how to clean things in my house like kitchen and my children’s rubber play mats etc so that they are safe. Also so far I’ve been using “green/eco friendly/non toxic/Castile soap” based surfactants. Do this work on the virus too? Could I do the same cleaning on the rubber play mats and render them safe for play?
I’ve also heard of a product called Viraclean, thoughts on this one?
Thank you,
On another light hearted note, I am trying to figure out how to make an actual post as I have a question about an exposure risk and not sure where/how to post.
Thank you kindly to all and thank you for sharing your expertise and experiences. It is unexplainably helpful for us all.
Caz
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Hi @Caz-anonymous,
Thanks for this question. I reckon (though I don’t have the data for this) if it feel soapy and makes bubbles, there’s probably enough surfactant there to inactivate the envelope of viruses including hepatitis B. I don’t have any knowledge of these specific soaps you mention though.
Re: your post, Hep B Transmission and Prevention - Hep B Community would be an appropriate category to post under.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
Hi Caz-Anonymous,
HBV is quite sensitive to detergents. We use low concentrations (0.5% v/v) of a mild non-ionic detergent such as NP40 or Triton X-100 in the lab to destroy HBV infectivity by dissolving the membrane. These detergents are milder than most hand-soaps, and are certainly milder than a typical cleaning fluid. So as long as things are carefully cleaned with the soaps you are using, including getting into any cracks or textures, you should be ok.
A more general way to destroy viruses (pretty much all of them, including HIV) is to cover the contaminated spot with a paper towel, pour a 10% v/v solution of household bleach (for example, 10 ml bleach + 90 ml water) onto the towel till it is saturated, and let it sit for 10 min before cleaning it up. That’s hard on the surface but will work great.
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Thank you so much,
I posted under one of those threads and tagged you for your opinion, patiently awaiting your thoughts, so grateful for your knowledge.
Thank you @john.tavis
My story was apparently a low risk exposure (potentially stepped in semen from a used tissue on shoes and didn’t realize and wore those shoes in house with kids - bit of a weird one I know so not even sure where to start applying a bleach solution like that. I tagged you in the thread with more detail so interested to hear your opinion when you have time.
I was wondering if you or anyone else could comment on the stability of the virus. The following says it’s stable up to 9 months, but I’ve been reading here everyone mentioning 7 days.
This would make a big difference for my exposure risk.
How long is hep b stable in the environment/surfaces.
9 months is quite a stretch–I doubt HBV could survive and be infectious after that long of exposure to the general environment. I suppose it could happen under special conditions, such as on a shelf in a refrigerator that is humid, but on a general surface such as a floor or door handle, it would not. The rule-of-thumb used in our blood-borne pathogen training that I have to take annually (and that is REALLY boring) is ~10-14 days, but of course that is highly dependent on local conditions.
So yes, HBV is a relatively stable virus compared to HIV or HCV, but it is still very sensitive to detergents and soaps.
John.
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Thanks @john.tavis
Haha I can imagine it would be boring if on repeat!
I guess that still leaves my situation up for debate as I handled and potentially stepped in a used wet tissue and it’s been cold and wet where I am. Apparently it had been outside for around a month, but it sounds like it may have been the perfect environment for the virus?
Please refer to my other tag when you have a chance 
Genuinely so grateful for you expertise and the time you take to answer my mundane questions. I’m just worried about my kids and potentially having exposed them. They are my world as everyone’s kids are.
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Hi @Caz-anonymous,
Thanks for your question. Taken as a whole, the risk of transmission in this particular case is negligible.
There are some other conversations around this topic that might be helpful for you:
Thomas