Seven housewives infected with HIV/AIDS in Bali

Seven housewives infected with HIV/AIDS in Bali

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

At least seven housewives on the resort island of Bali have been
infected with HIV, suggesting the epidemic has penetrated a
population previously considered low risk.

"Five of them are now living in the island's northern coastal
regency of Buleleng, and the other two are living in the island's
capital of Denpasar," the coordinator of Bali+, Putu Ayu Utami,
said on Sunday.

Bali+, known by its Indonesian acronym ODHA, is a Denpasar-
based non-governmental organization that provides care and
support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The first case of an HIV-infected housewife was found in
Denpasar in 1997. Two more cases were discovered in 1999, three
in 2001, and one in 2002. Most of women were believed to have
been infected by their husbands during sex.

"Some of the husbands have HIV, some are already in the
terminal stage of AIDS, some have already died because of AIDS.
There was also a case of a man with AIDS who had seven wives. We
are still trying to search for the widows," Utami told The
Jakarta Post.

Most of the housewives were tested during their final stages
of pregnancy or a few days before the delivery.

"The women have given birth to at least eight babies, and one
is still in the final stage of pregnancy. The HIV status of the
babies remains unclear since they have not been tested yet," she
said.

In its early years, the transmission of HIV/AIDS was believed
to be confined to certain groups, such as homosexuals, commercial
sex workers and injecting drug users (IDUs).

However, recent findings stated that the epidemic could
perform "an inter-population leap" from those high-risk
populations into the populations once considered not at risk.
However, we now know that virtually all groups in society are
prone to the deadly virus.

One probable scenario of the "leap" involved an HIV-infected
IDU who passed the virus to a prostitute, who in turn infected
her clients, who later transmitted it to their wives, and,
consequently, to their babies.

As of September 2002 there were 233 recorded HIV/AIDS cases in
Bali; 114 IDUs, 45 heterosexuals, 35 homosexuals and 39
unspecifieds.