Police dismiss HIV/AIDS-infected food rumor

The Ministry of Public Security and local police have refuted the rumor that a lot of people in Wenzhou city, East China's Zhejiang province, are infected with HIV/AIDS because they ate food tainted with HIV virus, People's Daily reported on Friday.

A rumor had been spread via text that more than10,000 HIV/AIDS-infected people spread the HIV virus by dropping their blood in food in many cities around the country and many people were infected in Wenzhou.

The rumor also said that the infections had been confirmed by the ministry.

Sources from the Ministry of Public Security clarified that they had never confirmed anything related to this rumor. Meanwhile, Wenzhou police said the rumor is groundless and the city is in order.

The HIV virus can only be transmitted via blood, sexual intercourse or by a pregnant woman to her fetus, said Wu Hao, director of the infection center at You'an Hopital in Beijing.

"When we say HIV virus spreads by blood, it doesn't mean you put infected blood in food, then people eating the food will get infected," Wu said.

He also added that "There is no such kind of case that people get infected with the HIV virus eating food contaminated by blood with the HIV virus in it."

It is not the first time an HIV/AIDS related rumor has spread. Health authorities have clarified such rumors many times.