Barbers' knives no cause for AIDS: experts

KANPUR: The barber's knife is not a mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS as the virus remains alive in open air for less than a minute, medical experts have said.

Unprotected sex and infected blood transplants are still the main mode of transmission of the deadly virus, they told a joint workshop organised by the United Nation's Capacity Building and Awareness programme and the NGO Samyak in Kanpur.

Most people remained in the dark over the mode of infection and transmission through the barber's knife was a common belief, Mona Mishra of United Nation Development Programme said.

The HIV virus remains alive in open air for 53 seconds and cannot infect any person through a barber's equipment, she said.

A lack of knowledge about the deadly disease has led to its rapid spread in India, she said.