Homemakers top sex workers for HIV-AIDS infections in NTB

The number of housewives infected with HIV/AIDS in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has increased by four in December 2008, upping the tally to 25, more than the number of infected sex workers for the same period, which has reached 21, a social worker said Tuesday.

"The housewives probably contracted HIV from their husbands or because of their own risky behavior," NTB welfare officer Rohmi Khoiriyati told tempointeraktif.com.

The total number of HIV infections in NTB has reached 137, 83 of which have progressed into full-blown AIDS.

Khoiriyati said cases of infection among women who categorize themselves as homemakers were reported across NTB's nine regencies.

The region's Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centers, however, only operate in five regencies and another in Lombok.

"HIV/AIDS has definitely penetrated households here, indicated by the rate of HIV infection occurring among these women," she said.

Khoiriyati said another cause for concern was the fact that HIV/AIDS had crossed into another social group. Seven farm laborers have contracted the life-threatening disease, five infected with HIV and two with full-blown AIDS. (amr)