Dear Friends!!!
Its good to be well informed about HIV.
There was a story on junk some days back where it is said that a boy got
infected by HIV virus by eating pani-puri.
And there have also been rumors where people are affected by the HIV virus
when they got pricked by an HIV infected needle in theaters which is
rubbish.
So read along!
RANBAXY....
I have seen this below mentioned mail floating across group email & I feel
its my moral responsibility to correct all misconceptions regarding HIV /
AIDS. I can do this because I am educated enough to comment on this and for
those who don't know my profession ... I am serving as Brand Manager
(Product Manager) handling anti HIV/AIDS portfolio (called as Antiretroviral Drugs) in Ranbaxy.
Please read following points carefully & don't send such emails related to
medical ailments without having complete knowledge about it (even partial
knowledge could be grossly dangerous).
* HIV (virus) requires *ONLY* *Blood or Semen* as medium to transmit from one body to another
* HIV *can not* transmit even through *Saliva* (mucous) i.e. even
if HIV-infected patient coughs and another person is exposed to his sputum
(cough), the virus still can not transmit because concentration of virus
particles in sputum is almost NIL & exposure to air anyway kills virus in
fraction of seconds
* In case HIV-infected person got an injury (like the cut in below
mentioned story) and he is bleeding, the virus can transmit to another
person only if another person has a cut/wound in his body & that too when
*blood from both person comes in contact with each other* (this is also
very very rare unless bleeding is very high) and not otherwise
* HIV can *never survive in any other liquid* medium also other
than blood or semen (& please for God sake ... never in Pani Puri wala pani)
* Even if one drinks an HIV infected blood (or semen) of someone
(ingest through Gastro Intestinal track), the virus *can not survive in the
acidic pH of stomach*. Highest extent of acidity is 0 (practically not
possible) so imagine 1 as pH which is in our stomach. (This pH can bun your
own finger in less than a second if you dip in that acid).
* *Exposure of less than 1 second in AIR KILLS the HIV virus*
(hence story of needle pricks in Cinema theatres is a crap). Even if blood
from a wound (of infected person) dries up (*blood clot*), *the virus dies*
and can not infect anyone else
* HIV transmission is *ONLY* an *INFECTION* i.e. entrance of virus in one's body. It *DOES NOT MEAN AIDS*.
* An HIV-infected person (after entrance of virus) can progress
to condition of AIDS only after *8 to 10 YEARS *(not in 15 days as in below mentioned story)
* It is *not HIV (virus) that kills a human* ..... the virus
attacks immune cells (cells that fight against foreign pathogens/antigens) and
hence a person's ability to fight against infections & diseases slowly
diminishes and person ultimately dies of a disease which could be as simple as TB
* Most importantly, HIV is no longer dreadful disease ... it is
"*CHRONIC MANAGEABLE DISEASE*" just like Diabetes or Hypertension.
If there is anything you need to be careful from to prevent HIV is *Unsafe
sex*, *Blood transfusion* (check before taking) / Blood donation (use
sterilized needles only) and any *blood contact during an accident *or so
where amount of bleeding is very high.
