The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #153828   Message #3607630
Posted By: GUEST,Eliza
06-Mar-14 - 04:38 AM
Thread Name: BS: Discussion of HIV transmission.
Subject: RE: BS: Discussion of HIV transmission.
Sorry to bang on about Africa, but I do have an inside view so to speak. I do know that, even after testing and diagnosis, many people there flatly refuse to do anything about protecting their partners/clients from catching the virus. Because symptoms aren't evident at first, they stick their heads in the sand and pretend all is well. They have a fatalistic view of life in many cases. They are poor, hungry and desperate to make some money. A disease that doesn't flatten them immediately is set to one side for the urgencies of today. The point I'm trying to make is that grinding poverty and deprivation are key elements in the HIV situation. If only one could address that (impossible I know) one would succeed in getting the sufferers to be more proactive in controlling the spread of AIDS.
A man who rented a shanty shack in my in-laws compound used to use prostitutes. His wife accepted this (no choice in their culture) He became very ill, was tested by a charity clinic and found to be HIV positive. He stopped work (rubbish collector) and continued to have sex with his wife. She became ill and then gave birth to a sick baby.
He died and was buried the same day. She took in another man. He became ill too. She died. He moved away. The orphaned baby, (probably HIV positive too) together with their other children, was collected by an elderly 'granny'. This scenario is re-enacted daily in Africa. Homosexuality has nothing to do with it.