§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has about the infectivity of HIV in saliva in vitro.
§ Mr. MellorExpert advice is that there are a few studies in which HIV has been isolated from the saliva of a small miniroty of HIV seropositive patients studied. The presence of HIV in saliva from these individuals was demonstrated by techniques involving in-vitro transmission of the virus to mononuclear cells.
However, epidemiological studies show no evidence for the transmission of HIV through saliva.