Pre-Chewed food can transmit HIV viruses

The new finding presented at 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, found that pre-chewed food given to a child from an infected HIV + mother could transmit HIV to the off springs.

This practice commonly found in developing countries and has identified as a new route of HIV transmission. The study led by US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDS) recorded three case of African-American born in United States in Memphis and Miami to have contracted HIV through pre-chewed food.

Earlier it was believed that HIV viruses present in saliva are not enough to transmit the disease through saliva, but the recent finding says that chewing increases the concentration of saliva which in turn increases the HIV viruses and thus led to transmission of the disease.

Though pre-chewed food is not popular in Western countries but people immigrated in America still follows this technique to feed the infants at weaning age because the woman does not have access to packaged food for infants.

The researchers though not sure said that small quantity of blood from the gums of infected patients must have got mixed with saliva thus causing the infection.

US researchers have asked mothers with HIV infection to stop pre chewing the food before feeding their baby as it can transmit HIV virus from mother to their child.

Dr. Kenneth Dominguez of US CDS said, “It’s likely that some cultural influences are involved, and I am sure that people are doing what their grandmothers and aunties did in practices carried through generations.”

He mentioned that the danger is more prevalent in lesser developed countries where baby foods are not available and usually there is lack of dental care.

With this new finding researcher might look into the possibilities of transmitting disease like hepatitis and others.