According to the Chinese press, hair ties at the markets in Dongguan are going for a song—about three cents for a bag of ten. But these bands aren’t made out of rubber; they’re recycled condoms.

The practice of recycling condoms as hair-ware is admittedly disgusting, but does it pose public health hazard? At least one person, a dermatologist at the Guangzhou Hospital of Armed Police, identified only as “Dong” seems to think so. “People could be infected with AIDS, warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while weaving their hair into plaits or buns,” Dong said.

Dong may or may not be a real person. I had no luck finding the Guangzhou Hospital of Armed Police on the internet. But his misconceptions about HIV are not unique. Even in the US, some people still believe that you can “catch” AIDS by kissing or sharing a soda with an individual who has HIV.

Even my boyfriend, a science writer, was suspicious. He (mis)remembered reading that health officials had actually tested the condoms and found them teeming with harmful pathogens.

By now the story (urban legend?) has wound its way through the blogosphere and wormed its way into several reputable news sources. Repetition without critique, I’m afraid, can only lend Dong’s comments credibility.

Another setback for the fight against HIV ignorance.

Posted on behalf of Cassandra Willyard, Nature Medicine’s news intern.