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From Cecil's Mailbag by the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Dear Straight Dope:
If chlorine in swimming pools kills AIDS, which makes it safe to
swim with someone infected, why is chlorine not being made into
some new wonder drug for AIDS? --Beatles404
SDSTAFF JillGat replies:
Chlorine injected into the vein will definitely kill HIV in an
infected person, the virus that causes AIDS. It will kill
everything, including the host (or hostess, as the case may be).
The purpose of chlorine in swimming pools is to kill other kinds of
organisms that can spread that way--it is not specifically for HIV.
You are perfectly safe swimming in a pool with someone infected
with HIV, even without chlorine, as long as you're not having sex
in the pool (in which case, chlorine won't help either).
--SDSTAFF JillGat
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Cecil's Mailbag is researched and written by members of the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, Cecil's online auxiliary. Although the SDSAB does its best, these articles are edited by Ed Zotti, not Cecil, so accuracywise you'd better keep your fingers crossed.
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