HIV Infections in Malaysia Women on Rise

Associated Press, By EN-LAI YEOH , March 23, 2006

The number of women infected with HIV in Malaysia is on the rise, and housewives outnumber female sex workers four to one, the Malaysian AIDS Council said Wednesday. In 1986, when the first AIDS cases were discovered in Malaysia, there were no female victims, but by 2004 women accounted for 7 percent of all HIV infections, the council said.

Of the 67,438 people found to be infected with HIV between 1996 and 2004, 4,841 were women. Of these, 1,756 were housewives and 435 were sex workers, said the council, Malaysia's main non-governmental group dealing with AIDS. Housewives have been infected through their spouses, council President Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman said.

The council said it believes the actual number of infected women is higher because many do not come forward for tests and suffer the disease in silence. Officials say some HIV patients are unwilling to seek treatment despite government subsidies for medication because they fear being ostracized.

HIV/AIDS was not reported in any females in Malaysia until 1988 when two women were infected, the council said. That number rose to 111 new cases in 1994, and to 842 new cases in 2004. Overall, 7,575 men and women were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2004 in Malaysia, a nation of 26 million, said the council, which regularly advises government health officials on policy.

The council data showed that 7,673 people have died of AIDS since 1986, including 582 women.

Source: Forbes.com