H

IV/AIDS had infected at least 156 housewives and 31 children aged between 2 and 9 years old in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) between 2001 and July this year, data at the provincial AIDS Mitigation Commission (KPAP) revealed.

The data showed that of the 156 infected housewives, 68 were HIV positive while the remaining 88 had AIDS.

Head of the KPAP NTB secretariat, Soeharmanto, said that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in NTB had started to increase in the last five years.

'€œThis needs to be anticipated as the disease affects not only people of high risk, such as prostitutes and drug users, but also housewives and children,'€ Soeharmanto told The Jakarta Post in Mataram on Wednesday.

The same data also revealed that the number of housewives living with HIV/AIDS was higher than that of commercial sex workers, of whom 62 were HIV positive and 12 had AIDS.

In total, Soeharmanto said, there had been 912 cases of HIV/AIDS in NTB between 2001 and July 2014, of which 408 were HIV cases and 504 were AIDS cases. Of the 504 cases of AIDS, 216 had died and the remaining 288 were still undergoing medical treatment.

Cases of HIV/AIDS in NTB, according to Soeharmanto, were spread evenly in the province'€™s 10 regencies and municipalities, comprising Mataram and Bima cities and the regencies of West Lombok, Central Lombok, East Lombok, North Lombok, West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu and Bima.

'€œThe combined increase of HIV/AIDS cases in NTB is indeed concerning, [...] the known data only accounts for the tip of the iceberg, while many cases are still unknown,'€ he said.

Causes of HIV/AIDS, he added, varied from sexual intercourse, to homosexuality, drug use, maternal infection and receiving infected blood.

Increases in the number of HIV/AIDS cases were also due to a number of VCT (voluntary counselling and testing) facilities becoming available in Lombok and Sumbawa.

Soeharmanto said that KPAP NTB and its partners continued to disseminate information on the need for high-risk groups to have checkups. Yet, the stigma related to the disease prevented them from visiting VCT facilities to have the free medical checkups.

Separately, NTB Health Agency'€™s Information and Documentation section head, M. Ismed Nuramadhani, acknowledged the spread of HIV/AIDS in NTB was alarming.

He said the growing number of cases and the even spread of HIV/AIDS across the province was cause for grave concern.

'€œThe spread of the disease has reached housewives and children. This is very alarming,'€ he said.

NTB, especially Lombok, which is a national tourist destination, he said, had a greater chance of HIV/AIDS spreading due to high mobility from various regions in Indonesia and overseas.

'€œEarly detection is very important, not only for the health of the concerned person but also to prevent the spread of the disease. However, we can only appeal to people because the VCT cannot be forced on anyone,'€ Ismed said.