Here’s the Report, written by the Transfusion Transmitted Disease Committee of the American Association of Blood Banks. Notable quotes:
- Physicochemical properties: Stable at room temperature and
can resist desiccation (drying); inactivated at 60°C [140 F] for 30 minutes [However, the 1984 Mitchell and McCormick paper that studied virus inactivation found that the time to inactivation was a function of the concentration of virus, and suggested 60 minutes for up to ten to the 5th viral particles/ml. Now we know titres may be much higher than this, so 60 minutes may not be sufficient. They also found that slightly lower temperatures failed to inactivate the virus.–Nass] - Asymptomatic viremia has been neither well studied nor
sought aggressively, so there are few or no data to make a critical assessment
of risk - In addition to high viral titers in blood, the skin of
patients is extensively infected. - Transmission to household contacts has ranged between 3 and
17%. - Prolonged
presence of viral RNA in semen and vaginal fluids (greater than 100 days) has been
demonstrated in a limited number of patients.