HIV Blood in a Ketchup Dispenser at a Fast Food Restaurant-Fiction!

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.