HIV does not transmit through ingestion route
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 9
HIV cannot be transmitted or contracted through ingestion of food products, according to the ART (Antiretroviral Therapy) Centre, Dimapur. The clarification from the ART Centre came in the backdrop of apprehension generated by the arrest of one small business owner from Golaghat, who was arrested in Dimapur, on August 7, on suspicion of selling beef innards tainted by HIV. A syringe was found in a bag used for carrying the innards.
The incident had created a stir, while rising concern about further stigmatising people living with HIV.
As per the Dimapur Network of People Living with HIV & AIDS (DNP+), the person was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Indian Justice Code), India’s newly adopted criminal code.
“If it is true that the intention was to spread the illness or the infection, I would like to say that there is no possibility that you could contract HIV by consuming food or meat products that has been (intentionally or unintentionally) contaminated with HIV,” Dr Molu Jamir, Medical Officer, ART Centre, told a press conference on August 9.
He said that the public should be more concerned about parasitic, protozoal and bacterial infections, implying watchfulness on how meat and meat products are handled.
Moreover, the HIV medication or ART is administrated orally and not through injection.
Dr Hotoka Hesso, the ART Centre’s Senior Medical officer, said that direct injury by a HIV-infected needle or through injection can be infectious. He also was quick to remind that HIV becomes inactive outside a host body. It does not spread by sharing the same toilet, swimming pool, gym et cetera.
Dr Hesso further noted, citing recent data, an increase in HIV transmission through intravenous (IV) drug use, especially in the 15-35 years age bracket in Dimapur, Niuland and Chümoukedima. Earlier, the percentage of transmission through the IV mode was around 1 percent, which was said to have increased to around 8 percent during the past 2-3 years.
HIV is known to transmit only through 4 routes— unprotected sex with a HIV-positive partner, through sharing of infected needles, transfusion of HIV-positive blood and HIV-positive mother to child.
He noted a comparatively high rate of HIV detection during antenatal checkups (ANC) in Nagaland. Nagaland is said to be the state with the highest HIV prevalence among pregnant women in the country. It is also the second most HIV prevalent state in the country.
HIV is not a death sentence however. A person on ART is able to live a normal healthy life. Technically, he said that a HIV-positive person on ART cannot transmit it to partners.
In the case of mother-child, Dr Hesso said that there is negligible chance of transmission to the unborn child, during delivery, as well through breastfeeding.
