Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - September 17, 2006
Subashni Naidoo

The study, conducted in 2004, says the suburbs of Welbedacht, Croftdene, Westcliff, Silverglen and Crossmoor were sitting on an HIV/Aids time-bomb, with a prevalence rate of between 40% and 50%.

Of 319 women who volunteered for tests in these areas, 143 were found to be HIV-positive.

Four other suburbs of Chatsworth - Arena Park, Woodhurst, Montford and Kharwastan - had prevalence rates of between 10% and 20%.

Researcher Prof Gita Ramjee said the study found that 37.1% of all 533 women screened in Chatsworth were infected.

She said 5% of those who tested negative became infected in one year.

"It is a devastating situation," she said.

"I don't think many people realise the full impact of this human tragedy."

An HIV/Aids educator in Chatsworth, Honey Allee, said the prevalence of HIV/Aids was much higher than that indicated in the study.

Allee said the increase in the number of infections could be attributed to a denial of the extent of the epidemic in the community.

"One of the main reasons for the high HIV prevalence is that the community believe that they are immunised against HIV by virtue of their culture," she said.

"They are in denial, believing that it is impossible for their children to get infected because they are brought up in a religious way.

"Parents often feel embarrassed to talk to their children about sex."

An HIV-positive Chatsworth mother, who did not wish to be identified, said her family was heartbroken when she disclosed her status in 1997, three years after an arranged marriage.

"Coming from a conservative family, it was something I never expected would happen," said the 32-year-old woman.

"A few days after my wedding, I discovered the nasty side of my husband, who had a drug addiction and womanising tendencies.

"I could not accept it. He was consistently with other women, and the scary part of it all was that I never considered the consequences of his promiscuous behaviour on my life."

When she was diagnosed with HIV, she became so angry that she could not live with him any longer.

"He wiped out every opportunity from my life.

"My father, a senior university lecturer, was distraught. I was the youngest of six children and the apple of his eye. It was a painful time and it was just unfortunate that I chose the worst partner for myself."

Although she has been living with the virus for nine years, she has not been treated with antiretroviral drugs.

"Spiritual guidance, positive thinking and counselling others infected have given me the drive to fight the virus. But, most importantly, the thing that keeps me alive is that I still have goals to attain, dreams to fulfil and to see my son graduate from university."

She has remarried, returned to work and is pursuing a degree in health and social science. She said HIV was not restricted to the low socio-economic groups but was also affecting Chatsworth's affluent areas.

Dr Krish Nair, medical director of the Chatsworth regional hospice, said 60% of infected patients were Indian males, while the remaining 40% were black females. Nair interviwed 133 women at the RK Khan HIV clinic for a soon-to-be-released study entitled "The psycho-social impact of HIV in low socio-economic women in Chatsworth".

"The average age was 24 and each woman had an average of five sexual partners. I found that they were still in the closet about their status because of the fear of being ostracised," said Nair.

The study found that 78% of the women were unemployed and collected social pensions which were inadequate to sustain their nutritional needs.

The chairman of the Bayview Flats Residents' Association, Brandon Pillay, said it was evident that the HIV/Aids pandemic was affecting the Chatsworth community in the same way as drugs like mandrax and sugars.

"As a community, we need to be pro-active in addressing this issue," said Pillay.

"We need to move away from hosting workshops and one-day events that make the world believe that something is happening, while the rest of the year we forget all about this dreadful killer."

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