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HIV through food!
Hello!
About 7 weeks ago I had been to a road side food stall. The guy preparing the food wasn't wearing any gloves while preparing the food. Within a minute of preparing the food, I consumed it. I didn't notice any cuts, or bruises on the guy's palms but I couldn't get a close look. Also, I had a very very small ulcer in my mouth (Otherwise my mouth is in good shape) .
I'd like to know if this was a low risk situation and I need to get tested for this?
What's worrying is that I had a very small ulcer then and the food wasn't heated to kill the possible HIV if at all present.
Also, have you ever heard of, even outside your organisation, of any HIV infection through food or through any other non-sexual way?
Appreciate any response to this query.
About 7 weeks ago I had been to a road side food stall. The guy preparing the food wasn't wearing any gloves while preparing the food. Within a minute of preparing the food, I consumed it. I didn't notice any cuts, or bruises on the guy's palms but I couldn't get a close look. Also, I had a very very small ulcer in my mouth (Otherwise my mouth is in good shape) .
I'd like to know if this was a low risk situation and I need to get tested for this?
What's worrying is that I had a very small ulcer then and the food wasn't heated to kill the possible HIV if at all present.
Also, have you ever heard of, even outside your organisation, of any HIV infection through food or through any other non-sexual way?
Appreciate any response to this query.
You cannot transmit HIV through food. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus . It needs human-to-human contact to be transmitted. HIV is a weak virus. It dies immediately when it is exposed to air. It needs a closed system to survive (ie- the human body).It is also worth noting, that even if the food contained blood and even if that blood contained the HIV virus, it still would not have direct access to your blood stream. When you eat food, it is mixed with saliva. Saliva has an enzyme in it that inhibits HIV, actually breaking it down, not allowing it to survive or live within saliva. The virus cannot go through skin, so your mouth does not provide direct access to your blood stream. Furthermore, not much of anything can survive within the human stomach. It's purpose is to break down everything that enters it-HIV is no exception to this.No risk situation testing is not warranted.
1 Comments
Thanks a lot,guys. That does give me some confidence.
You had no risk. HIV can only infect through unprotected anal/vaginal sex, sharing drug needles, and mother to child. What you have described is not how HIV is spread. You had no risk which obviously means no reason to test.
1 Comments
Thanks a ton! That gives me a lot of confidence moving forward!
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