Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala state education department has attracted criticism and is being roasted in social media platforms after its class 10 biology textbook was found suggesting that HIV virus spread “through pre-marital/extramarital sexual conduct".

Dr Arun, a practitioner of General Medicine from Kerala’s Palakkad district, posted the photo of the page carrying this suggestion on social media. The page describes four ways through which HIV can be transmitted: “by sharing the needle and syringe used by AIDS patients,” “through body fluids,” “from HIV infected mother to foetus” and “through premarital/extramarital sexual contact.”

Soon the post went viral, with the education department getting flak from netizens. Twiterati slammed the ‘silly’ preaching. Some asked that how can a virus know whether a couple was having a premarital or post-marital sex.

Reacting to the developments, Nishi, a research officer of SCERT, said, “This mistake has come to our notice and it has been rectified . From the next academic year, the text will not have this portion."

The book is published by the state council of educational research and training (SCERT) and this goof-up has been there from 2015-16 academic season. The students unknowingly, studied this incorrect fact for last 3 years.

Sources suggested that the book was not introduced by the present team.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which can lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, if left untreated.