HIV Blood in a Ketchup Dispenser at a Fast Food Restaurant-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
The forwarded email warns that someone who is believed to be HIV-positive was found putting blood into a ketchup dispenser at a fast-food restaurant. It warns to only use sealed packets of ketchup.
The Truth:
This eRumor primarily circulated in the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control there has not been any report of HIV-infected blood in any ketchup dispensers at any restaurants. Further, according to the CDC, there has never been a case of HIV infection or AIDS reported to them that was the result of eating something that contained the virus. A CDC release reminds everyone that HIV is a blood-borne disease and is passed from one person to another directly such as through certain kinds of sexual contact, needle sharing with an infected person, or blood transfusions.