Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, Ogun State chapter, Dr Azim Kunle Ashimi says the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can not be transmitted outside the human body.
Ashimi made this assertion while reacting to a claim by a woman who called in on a radio programme on Wednesday night, that she mixed her HIV-positive blood into the zobo drinks she sold to people within her vicinity.
She said “I extract my blood with a syringe and mix it in the zobo. I was a nurse before but when I was confirmed HIV positive, I had to stop.
“I’m not happy with what I have done but I am happy that I will not die alone.
But in a swift reaction, Dr. Ashimi. said, “HIV cannot survive well outside the human body. If it is mixed with treated water, the virus will not survive.
“If you examine the zobo drink itself, it has its own acidity and putting HIV-positive blood in it will only neutralise the potency of the virus.
Speaking further, Ashimi stressed that HIV cannot even be transmitted through saliva, especially when the affected person kissed a partner or relative.
“If the person that is HIV-positive has a sore with blood in the mouth, it will take a high quantity of blood from the carrier to infect the person they are kissing.”
