The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday publicized a list of 10 misconceptions about HIV/AIDS that have spread online to dispel rumors about HIV transmission.
“HIV is a fragile virus that quickly dies after leaving the human body and will not transmit through food, water, daily necessities or through mosquito bites, so the public should not be worried,” the CDC said on its Web site yesterday.
It said that a common misconception is that HIV can be transmitted by sharing food or drinks, or by coming into contact with items used by HIV-positive people, but added that the virus cannot be transmitted in such ways.
It can be transmitted through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and breast milk, but not through air, water, saliva, tears or sweat, the CDC said.
Another misconception is that fish foot spa pedicures can spread HIV, originating from a media report in the UK, which misinterpreted government data, the CDC said, adding that the data did not mention HIV/AIDS and so far no case of HIV infection from a fish pedicure has been confirmed.
Responding to an online rumor that a child in Thailand contracted AIDS by eating a pineapple that was contaminated by the HIV-positive vendor’s blood, the CDC said that HIV does not transmit through food or drinks.
The CDC added that HIV cannot survive in a mosquito’s body, so the insects cannot transmit the virus, although they can transmit some other viruses.
Misconceptions about diseases can spread quickly on the Internet and affect public disease prevention efforts, the CDC said, adding that spreading rumors about diseases is against the law, so people should not spread unconfirmed information about diseases.
The CDC also launched an online database to dispel rumors about certain diseases, and urged the public to visit the Web site at www.cdc.gov.tw to learn more about diseases and vaccines.
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