A woman who claims to be a former nurse and HIV positive has confessed to mixing the Sobolo drink that she sells with her blood to deliberately infect others with the virus.
According to the Nigerian woman who disclosed this on live radio, she has been on an HIV-spreading spree for the past six months because she doesn’t want to die alone.
Sobolo is a popular local beverage made from the petals of the edible plant, Hibiscus. It is called Zobo in Nigeria.
Pulse.ng reports that the woman in question made the revelation during a radio show, MarketRunz, on Wazobia FM, on the night of Wednesday, November 10, 2022.
The host of the radio show had asked listeners to call in and confess what they do in the marketplace that people are unaware of, including the ones they are not proud of, the news outlet reports.
“I went to the hospital six months ago and I was told I had HIV.
“I started mixing my blood with the zobo I make to sell and I sell to many people.
“I extract my blood with a syringe and mix it in the zobo. I was a nurse before but when I was confirmed HIV positive, I had to stop.
“I’m not happy with what I have done but I am happy that I will not die alone.
“I have been doing it for six months now and I pray God will forgive me,” the anonymous woman is quoted to have said.
But it is emerging that the woman’s bid to spread the virus may just be an exercise in futility as some findings show that her modus operandi may be counterproductive.
“Individuals cannot become infected through ordinary day-to-day contacts such as kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing personal objects, food or water,” the World Health Organisation (WHO)
Hong kong’s Center for Food Safety, referencing the World Health Organisation says on its website: In fact, HIV does not live long outside the human body. Even if the food contained small amounts of HIV-infected blood or semen, exposure to the air, heat from cooking, and stomach acid would destroy the virus. Based on the current scientific evidence, WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are of the opinion that food is not a source of HIV infection.”
Also, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on its website says: “HIV does not survive long outside the human body (such as on surfaces), and it cannot reproduce outside a human host. It is not transmitted.”
The CDC lists the following as some of the ways through which HIV cannot be transmitted.
- By mosquitoes, ticks, or other insects.
- Through saliva, tears, or sweat.
- By hugging, shaking hands, sharing toilets, sharing dishes, or closed-mouth or “social” kissing with someone who has HIV.
- Through other sexual activities that don’t involve the exchange of body fluids (for example, touching).
- Through the air.
