HIV, AIDS patients still fear being ostracised

NST: PETALING JAYA: When she needed her family's support the most, Jenny (not her real name) was shunned by the people around her.
Her mother-in-law kept her daughter, Jasmine, away from her for three years -- all because she was HIV-positive.
Jenny, 38, finally told her 13-year-daughter that she was HIV-positive last November, five years after she was diagnosed.
"When I told her, she cried and cried. She just could not accept it."
Jenny said she had delayed telling Jasmine she was HIV-positive as she had feared that the young girl was not mature enough to understand the condition.
Today, however, Jasmine is her mother's rock. She reminds Jenny to take her medication and looks after her mother's needs.
Not everyone, however, is as understanding as Jasmine.
"People immediately move away from me when they learn that I am HIV-positive," said the widow, whose husband died of AIDS six years ago.
Speaking at a press conference held after the announcement of the results of the AIDS Treatment for Life International Survey (ATLIS) yesterday by the Malaysian Society for HIV Medicine (MaSHM), Jenny said she did not want to be identified or have her picture taken by the media as her daughter was facing discrimination in school for having a HIV-positive mother.
"I rarely expose myself but I thought today (yesterday) I should come and share my story to give other HIV and AIDS patients hope," said Jenny who is now an AIDS counsellor at a government hospital.
In the ATLIS survey, 85 per cent of HIV and AIDS patients worldwide did not reveal they have the condition for fear of social discrimination.
Three big reasons why they did not reveal their condition were fear of losing their family and friends (58 per cent), the impact the news would have on their current relationships (58 per cent) and loss of employment (51 per cent).
The survey also showed that Malaysia had the third largest number of HIV-positive and AIDS patients who were afraid of making their plight known.
"Because of these fears, many HIV and AIDS patients do not come forward to be diagnosed and treated, thereby presenting a danger to both themselves and their loved ones," said Dr Christopher Lee, MaSHM's president and an infectious disease specialist.
The survey also showed that some HIV-positive patients refused to seek or continue treatment as they were afraid of the side-effects.
"Patients are stopping therapy without the guidance of their doctors," said Dr Lee.
He added that there was a strong need for continued HIV and AIDS education regarding disease prevention, treatment adherence, benefits and tolerability of newer treatment options.