Everyone is HIV-positive until they are proven otherwise.Dr Sindi van Zyl, of the Anova Health Institute in Johannesburg, which specialises in HIV treatment and prevention, doesn't mince her words. Neither can South Africans, she says, 18% of whom (adults, that is) are HIV-positive.
Everyone is HIV-positive until they are proven otherwise.Dr Sindi van Zyl, of the Anova Health Institute in Johannesburg, which specialises in HIV treatment and prevention, doesn't mince her words. Neither can South Africans, she says, 18% of whom (adults, that is) are HIV-positive.
She was speaking at Rhodes University at the invitation of the Discovery Centre for Health Journalism and the topic of her lecture was "HIV: Facts versus Fiction. Answers to HIV myths you have been wondering about". Van Zyl said her outlook was that everyone was HIV-positive until it was proved otherwise.
The biggest obstacles to combating HIV/Aids, she said, were perceptions about whom the disease affected.
"HIV has a black face," she said. "That's a problem. It means you have a community with blind spots.
"You have HIV until proven otherwise – regardless of your family background and environment,” she said, stressing the point.
Van Zyl then proceeded to clear up several popular HIV-related myths and shared some scientific facts about the virus.
Condoms do work
True. HIV does not pass through condoms. They are the only things that we know prevent infection. However, they have to be used consistently. It's either you use them all the time, or you don’t.
If my partner is positive, I am not necessarily also positive.
True. It’s much easier for women to get HIV than men. You need to get tested individually.
Circumcision can prevent you from getting HIV.
True. Research carried out in Uganda proved that circumcision significantly reduces the risk of infection. Circumcision works by hardening the layers of skin at the tip of the penis, which prevents cuts during sex. The foreskin is a hive of CD4 cells, which is an ideal habitat for the virus, and the skin at the tip of the (uncircumcised) penis is more sensitive, making it prone to cuts that allow the virus in.
HIV is not transmitted during oral sex.
True. The saliva of an infected person contains the virus, but it is not in a high enough concentration to infect your partner. You need about two buckets of saliva to infect someone else.
If you are both HIV-positive, you must use a condom
True. HIV is different in each person. If you are both positive and have unprotected sex, you can re-infect each other and make each other sicker.
HIV-positive women can have children and the child can be born HIV-negative
True. There is no reason why you can’t have a child. The mindsets we have sometimes prevent people from seeking help early enough to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
HIV-positive mothers can breastfeed
True. The South African government offers milk for babies for six months, but breastfeeding is still the best option for HIV babies and babies in general. There are two categories of women breastfeeding with HIV: mothers who are on ARVs whose babies get neviropine prophylaxis (NP) for only six weeks; and mothers who aren’t on ARVs whose babies will get NP for the duration of the breastfeeding. The mother or the baby should be taking proper treatment. That is why every pregnant woman should know her status.
Immune-boosters cannot cure HIV.
True. Nothing can cure the virus. ARVs are the only things that halt or slow down the process of the virus spreading. Immune boosters are killing a lot of people because they take them and expect a miracle to happen.
Married men do have sex with men, in any culture – African or otherwise
True. Men who have sex with men (MSM) is also common among married men, who go to public male hang-out spots and hook up with other men. MSM is a problem for a country that is battling HIV. That's because the wives at home are unaware of their husbands’ activities and are at risk because they don't realise they need to use protection in case their husbands are infected. These men don’t identify themselves as gay. MSM is something they do on the side. It’s a reality and it needs to be dealt with.
Clinical trials of Aids do not use black people as guinea pigs.
This is a very vigorous process. A lot of money has been invested in clinical trials in an effort to save lives, and these trials include a wide segment of the population. Often researchers pay students to participate in the trials.
Aids kills
True. But no one should die of Aids-related illnesses in this day and age. The drugs are available and are being made more widely available from the government. People should be on treatment.
ARVs do work
True. ARVs save lives. People get HIV and die unnecessarily if they do not take ARVs.
Overseas countries are giving less money for HIV/Aids than previously.
True. Donor countries are no longer pouring money into Aids treatment and research in other countries. They have decided that countries need to do something themselves.
