A London GP has posted a video on Tik Tok with misinformation that you can contract HIV and hepatitis from blood stained toilet roll, which has had over one million views. This is extremely worrying as no-one has ever contracted HIV from toilet roll. This has been refuted by our Medical Director Kate Nambiar, who said:
'Nobody has ever contracted HIV or hepatitis from toilet roll. That’s because HIV doesn’t survive for long outside the body. Once HIV is exposed to air it weakens quickly and transmission only takes place when it passes from one person's body into another body. Hepatitis B and C are able to stay active for longer outside the body but are inactivated by drying so transmission is effectively impossible.'
It’s extremely worrying that over one million people have seen this Tik Tok from Dr Sermed Mezher which spreads misinformation that it is possible to contract HIV and hepatitis from toilet roll. This is not only scientifically impossible, it’s also highly damaging to the lives of people living with HIV by perpetuating stigma and also instils fear in the general public. The vast majority of people get HIV through sex. It can also be passed on by injecting drugs as well as from mother to baby during childbirth (known as vertical transmission), but these are far less common. Only 1.7% of new HIV diagnoses last year were from injecting drug use and just 0.5% were vertical transmissions.
It is crucial that Dr Mezher retracts the incorrect claims from his Tik Tok. Terrence Higgins Trust would love to work with him to make sure his followers have up-to-date information on HIV. As a GP doctor with thousands of followers, he’s in a unique position to educate them on the facts about HIV, including the fact that people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on and can live a fulfilling life with a normal lifespan. We recommend that Dr Mezher joins the Fast Track Cities London HIV GP Champion Network which is dedicated to improving care for people living with HIV, allowing him to go from sharing myths about HIV to become a champion of the HIV community.”
