Iraqi Environment Ministry Responds to Minister’s Warning About Tigris River Contamination with AIDS

Al-Taj News – The Iraqi Ministry of Environment denied that there is any scientific basis for the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, through eating fish or drinking water, stressing that its warnings regarding the discharge of medical waste and untreated contaminated water into the Tigris River are based on actual environmental and health risks.

The ministry said in a statement that Minister Sarwa Abdul Wahid’s warning against discharging medical waste and untreated contaminated water into the Tigris River aims to draw attention to the serious environmental and health consequences of these practices and to emphasize the need to treat them in accordance with the approved environmental regulations and standards, in a manner that ensures the protection of public health and water resources.

It explained that some outlets covered the minister’s statement in a scientifically inaccurate manner by linking the discharge of medical waste to the possibility of HIV transmission through eating fish, which necessitated clarifying the facts based on approved scientific and medical data.

The ministry affirmed that the virus is not transmitted through eating fish, drinking water, or consuming food, stressing that the warning about environmental pollution is based on its actual risks and its potential effects on human health and ecosystems.