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HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system and causes AIDS. This viral infection is transmitted through exposure to body fluids from an infected person to a healthy person. Your body also has various types of body fluids, and saliva is one of them. So, what if you share food with someone who is infected with HIV? Can HIV be transmitted through food?
HIV is transmitted through food, myth or fact?
Before answering these questions, you need to first understand how HIV transmission can occur. HIV is indeed a lot of body fluids, but not all types of body fluids can be an intermediary for the transmission of this virus. Transmission can only occur if you are exposed to the sufferer's blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or rectal fluids.
Citing the CDC page, HIV transmission most often occurs through sexual intercourse without using a condom. People who have anal sex are even more at risk of contracting HIV because the mucous membranes in the anus are prone to injury. Through these wounds, the virus can move from the fluids of the sex organs and enter the body of a healthy person.
Apart from wounds, HIV can also be transmitted by injection directly into the bloodstream or from contaminated needles and sharp objects. HIV positive mothers can also pass the virus to their children during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. However, not all babies of HIV positive mothers will experience the same condition. The risk of transmission can decrease if the mother undergoes routine HIV treatment.
Why can't HIV be transmitted through food?
HIV can be transmitted easily through sexual contact and the use of contaminated needles that allow the virus to move from the body fluids of the sufferer to the body of a healthy person. However, this virus cannot be transmitted through food for several reasons.
Although it is abundant in body fluids, HIV cannot live in saliva, sweat, and tears. The reason is, saliva contains a number of enzymes and proteins that function in the digestive process as well as being able to kill bacteria and viruses. This is why HIV also cannot be transmitted through kissing.
One of the enzymes found in saliva is secretory leukocyte protease inhibitors (SLPI). This enzyme is useful for preventing HIV infection of T cells and monocytes. Compared to other body fluids, saliva contains more SLPI so that HIV cannot survive in it.
In addition, HIV is also unable to survive long outside the human body or reproduce itself without a host in the form of white blood cells. This virus can even die easily when exposed to air, heat from the cooking process, and stomach acid.
The CDC has reported cases of HIV transmission from food that sufferers have chewed to healthy children under five. However, this case occurred because the food had mixed with the blood that came from the patient's mouth. The risk is so small that it cannot be considered as a mode of transmission of HIV.
HIV is not transmitted through food, kissing, hugging, or even sharing the toilet with sufferers. To prevent transmission of this virus, the best way you can do is to avoid risky behavior such as changing partners and using injecting drugs.
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