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.