The virus among us

Risky business

Findings from the latest Human Sciences Research Council survey on the spread of HIV make it clear that reckless behaviours are still allowing the virus to spread, although awareness is improving nationwide

Womens woes

Men and women in all age groups arent using condoms as religiously as they claimed to during previous surveys. The biggest drop in condom use was recorded among men aged between 15 and 24 from 85.2% of respondents in this group who said no glove, no love in 2008, to 67.4% last year

85.2%

67.4%

The survey suggests that women are getting tested for HIV more frequently than their male counterparts. This may be because women are encouraged to be tested for the virus when they are pregnant and visit clinics. 37.7% 51.6% Men dont have that kind of impetus. The survey shows that 51.6% of women knew their status, compared with just 37.3% of men HIV prevalence among women between the ages of 30 to 34 is almost double the national prevalence, which is 18.6%. For this group, the prevalence is 36.7%. On the plus side, this gure is known because they are also the group most likely to be on antiretrovirals Of the 2 million people on antiretroviral treatment at the time of the survey, 1.4 million are women, most aged between 20 and 39, and 605 670 are men

STATUS?

A geographical prole

Quirks

KwaZulu-Natal had the highest HIV prevalence in the country at 27.6%, followed closely by Mpumalanga at 26%, and the Free State at 19.6%. KwaZulu-Natal is consistently the province hardest hit by HIV. Why? Clinicians and the health department arent sure, but the high rate of infections also means the province tops the list for TB cases nationwide

So what are 15- to 24-year-old men and women doing right? HIV prevalence in this group decreased from 8.7% in 2008 to 7.3% in 2012. 15- to 24-year-old Well be looking to the full men and women survey to see whether awareness, abstinence, a little bit of both or some other factor is behind the drop Marriage makes you safer, it seems. HIV prevalence among unmarried people is double when compared with those who are married 19.2% compared with 9.8%. The full report will give more detail about how many people are playing away from home

2008

2012

26% 19.6% 27.6%

As condom use drops, its particularly worrying to read that the number of men who reported having two or more sexual partners in the period under review climbed in all age groups. The biggest spike, 4%, was among boys and men aged between 15 and 24. Interestingly, the same men who admitted to having two or more sexual partners are those who say condom use is an important part of their sex lives. So theres more sex, with more partners but theyre doing so safely, they insist. Whether this will be borne out when the full report is released and we know more about the spread of the disease remains to be seen

unmarried

19.2%

At the other end of the spectrum, the Western Cape still has the lowest HIV prevalence but this increased from 5.2% in 2008 to 9.2% in 2012. As with KwaZuluNatal, there are no easy answers to explain why the Western Capes gures are comparatively lower

married

9.8%

Source: The HSRCs National Household HIV Survey 2012 - Zinhle Mapumulo

RUDI LOUW, Graphics24