Wives and children innocent victims of HIV transmission

Wives and children innocent victims of HIV transmission

Sari P. Setiogi and Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Manado

Nobody could have ever imagined years ago that HIV could decimate
families, transmitted to innocent women by their husbands and to
children by their mothers.

"My husband never told me that he was HIV positive. I never
knew ... we lived our lives normally, including our sex life,"
said a 26-year-old woman,

Alina (not her real name) became a housewife after she married
Donny (not his real name) in 2000. She knew her husband was an
injecting drug user, but she never realized that his addiction
could expose him to the HIV.

She first realized that she had been infected by the virus
after their son was born.

"My son was three months old in March 2002. He suffered from
diarrhea and was hospitalized for five months. His weight dropped
rapidly to only three kilograms," Alina recalled on Tuesday.

A pediatrician suggested Alina let her undergo a blood test
for HIV/AIDS, to which she agreed. It was only after the results
came back that she found out to her horror that her son was HIV
positive.

"How could it be ..." Alina said in tears. "I hate my husband
and I can never forgive him."

The couple separated for a year, during which time Alina also
tested positive for the virus.

HIV/AIDS activist, Baby Jim Aditya, told The Jakarta Post that
an estimated eight to 10 million husbands throughout the country
were clients of commercial sex workers.

"Those promiscuous men put their wives in danger of being
infected with HIV," she said.

Director of Communicable Disease Control with the Indonesian
Doctors Association (IDI), Pandu Riono, also highlighted the risk
among what were previously considered to be lower risk sections
of community, such as housewives and young children.

"The possibility that they have been infected with the virus
might be the last thing on their mind. They might be unaware of
the need for blood tests, and the dissemination of information on
HIV to this group never occurred to the government and non-
governmental organizations," said Pandu.

Pandu said all HIV/AIDS campaigns, education and training here
concentrated on the so-called high-risk groups, such as
commercial sex workers, transvestites, homosexuals and injecting
drug users (IDU).

"We always forget that the clients of commercial sex workers
and transvestites, the sexual partners of the homosexuals and the
IDUs can harm their wives, children and partners," said Pandu who
is also the Surveillance and Data Use Specialist of Family Health
International.

A rough estimate puts the number of people with HIV/AIDS in
the country at between 90,000 and 130,000, although official
figures had only recorded 5,000 cases as of September 2004.

"When talking about HIV/AIDS here, people link it with bad
morals. Most people are still believe that only 'sinners' can
catch HIV/AIDS. Many will shun them, even their own friends and
families," said Baby.

People with the virus, however, could continue to live normal
lives.

Ryan, a 23-year-old woman who was infected by a dirty needle,
said she could still practice karate, play the drums with her
band and write plays.

"Please do not isolate us. The virus is not airborne. It can
only be contracted through bodily fluids," she said.

However, she was afraid of telling her boyfriend's parents.
"It might take a while ...," she explained.