Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

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newcastle
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Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

UN Voices Alarm About Spread of HIV in Egypt
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSDEC. 4, 2017, 1:24 A.M. E.S.T.


CAIRO — The U.N. is voicing alarm over the spread of HIV in Egypt, where the number of new cases is growing by up to 40 percent a year, and where efforts to combat the epidemic are hampered by social stigma and a lack of funding to address the crisis.

The virus that causes AIDS, U.N. officials say, is infecting more young and adolescent people than any other age group.

Egypt, home to some 95 million people, ranks behind only Iran, Sudan and Somalia in the Middle East for the rate at which the epidemic is spreading, according to U.N. figures. In Egypt, patients are often jailed on trumped up charges and ostracized by society. The disease is associated with homosexuality, which is not explicitly illegal but is widely seen as a transgression against religion and nature in the conservative, Muslim-majority country.

"There is a 25-30 percent increase in incidents every year... It's is alarming to us because the growth of the epidemic and the discontinuation of interest from donors in funding," Ahmed Khamis, of the U.N. AIDS agency, told The Associated Press.

Estimates of the number of people living with HIV in Egypt vary. UNAIDS says there are over 11,000 cases, while the country's Health Ministry estimates the figure to be around 7,000.

The rise in the number of new infections, however, is not in dispute.

"Most recently, we've been seeing people of a much younger age group infected with the virus. There is a higher risk now for adolescents and youths than in the past," said Khamis.

"We don't have exact numbers, but this is what the evidence we are seeing on the ground is suggesting," he added, explaining that the lack of funds is hampering Egypt's capacity to produce precise figures.

Patients who require surgical intervention are often unable to access basic health care at hospitals because of the associated stigma, UNAIDS officials said.

The virus can be spread through sexual contact, as well as contaminated needles or syringes, or blood transfusions. It can also be passed from infected women to their babies at birth or through breast-feeding. But in Egypt, the virus is widely associated with homosexuality, which is seen by many Egyptians as a lifestyle choice.

In a recent conference on AIDS, Islamic scholar and cleric Ali al-Jifri spoke about the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV and AIDS patients. "A person diagnosed with HIV is a human. We should never question their diagnosis," he told the conference.

A Christian priest, Bolous Soror, told the conference that Egyptians should accept others, regardless of their HIV status.

Shunned by society, it is not uncommon for patients to contemplate suicide.

Ahmed, 40, is one of them. He has been trying to gain asylum status in the U.S. because, he says, he has lost hope in a future in Egypt.

"I do not want to be living a life always feeling strapped down and imprisoned," he told his therapist during a session attended by an AP reporter. Fearing further stigma, he asked that he be identified only by his first name.

In an anonymous testimony given to UNAIDS and seen by the AP, one woman said she was infected by her late husband and later found it hard to live in a society that rejects people carrying the virus. She was beaten and denied by her family an inheritance she and her children were legally entitled to when her husband died. When she attempted to start a new life with her children in a different neighborhood, her in-laws made sure her new neighbors learned about her condition.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/1 ... t-hiv.html


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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Dusak »

And those numbers could be a lot higher. There are a lot of poorer folk that are forced to visit the visiting village doctor or restricted opening hours clinics for a 5Le prognosis, usually ending up with the advice of taking an aspirin. So a lot of diagnosis's would/could be wrong, as mentioned quite a lot over the years by my friend that has a visiting doctor and a small disgustingly dirty clinic in her village.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

The figures are for cases diagnosed and undoubtedly underestimates the number of people actually infected because no Egyptian in their right minds is going to go voluntarily for an HIV test without some special reason.

One wonders how they've managed to ascertain as many cases on infection as they have? Possibly blood taken for any purpose is occasionally tested? Maybe the authorities are routinely testing all blood samples, taken for whatever purpose, for HIV?

Of course donated blood is routinely checked as is the HIV status of anyone undergoing surgery.

Being found to be HIV positive in Egypt today is a disaster...and I don't mean from the health point of view. That is possibly the least of their worries.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Major Thom »

So true "D" there is still the question, do they know what HIV is?
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Dusak »

Both parties of the marriage ceremony have to show they are HIV negative before they wed, and there must be thousands of marriages here every year so plenty of blood tests there. I was told that university students indulge in sexual anal intercourse, seeing this as an acceptable alternative to the real thing. I doubt, because of the entry point, the man or the woman, see no reason to take precautions, thinking it is safe not to get pregnant. It makes you wonder if they are truly ignorant to HIV, or just adopt the attitude that it is unlikely to happen to me. I wonder what the reaction would be if the bride or groom was diagnosed with HIV.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

Dusak wrote:Both parties of the marriage ceremony have to show they are HIV negative before they wed, and there must be thousands of marriages here every year so plenty of blood tests there. I was told that university students indulge in sexual anal intercourse, seeing this as an acceptable alternative to the real thing. I doubt, because of the entry point, the man or the woman, see no reason to take precautions, thinking it is safe not to get pregnant. It makes you wonder if they are truly ignorant to HIV, or just adopt the attitude that it is unlikely to happen to me. I wonder what the reaction would be if the bride or groom was diagnosed with HIV.
This is not mandatory Dusak.

Pre-marital screening for genetic, infectious and transmissible diseases is probably sensible in a country where first cousin marriages are common and where the population is anal ( excuse the pun) about being able to produce healthy offspring in great numbers.

How common it is in practice....I wouldn't know. Surely it would be unusual in the poorer community because of the costs involved?
I wonder what the reaction would be if the bride or groom was diagnosed with HIV
I guess the wedding would be off ..for starters :lol:
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by carrie »

I remember some years ago all the staff at the Winter Palace had to undergo mandatory, HIV testing. Quite a few of the staff had to leave.
Friends have told me about this practice at Universities Dusak, the main reason I heard was that the female still remained "a girl" because she had not yet had sex.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

There's a terrible degree of ignorance about sexual matters in Egypt as a result of the fact that it's a taboo subject for discussion and sex education, in the home or school, is minimal to non-existent.

Virginity is everything to do with the girl's hymen. Provided that's intact, anything goes.

Transmission of STDs is poorly understood by the public and HIV is probably seldom considered , being primarily a "gay disease".

And, of course, there are no gays in Egypt...at least no Egyptian ones. An HIV test is required for any foreigner requiring a work permit but is not a general requirement for Egyptians seeking employment.

I'm sure some health professionals are aware of the ticking time bomb, but the majority have their head firmly in the sand.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Who2 »

A Dr writes:
So it's all down to catching it off toilet seats then.... 8)
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Dusak »

I've just checked up on the mandatory blood test before marriage. It was confirmed that it is now a requirement as all papers go through the courts for the official stamps, then to Cairo for registration. If the blood test is not included, then the paperwork is void. The test itself costs 50Le.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

Dusak wrote:I've just checked up on the mandatory blood test before marriage. It was confirmed that it is now a requirement as all papers go through the courts for the official stamps, then to Cairo for registration. If the blood test is not included, then the paperwork is void. The test itself costs 50Le.
I stand corrected Dusak.

I should have spoken to the family who confirmed that it is a regulatory requirement...although not always adhered to in practice amongst more rural communities.

For 50LE I suppose they'll get an STD check including HIV.

But as for possible inheritable genetic conditions, I doubt it. But then the state is possibly less bothered about that.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by newcastle »

Who2 wrote:A Dr writes:
So it's all down to catching it off toilet seats then.... 8)
Or eating chimpanzees.

Or having sex with someone who's eaten chimpanzees.

Or having sex with someone, who's had sex with someone who's eaten chimpanzees.

Etc etc....you get the picture :wi

Then there's a whole other subclass....those who've had sex with chimpanzees.

Those who've had sex with someone who's had sex with chimpanzees,

Etc etc.

The moral? Don't have sex with, or eat, chimpanzees.

Or , if you do, wear a condom....although that may not help if you're eating a chimpanzee.
Spoiler
Chimpanzees love bananas. Luxor's full of bananas. Ergo....
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Who2 »

Or don't shove it where it don't belong, keep it in your pants... 8)
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by DJKeefy »

Who2 wrote:Or don't shove it where it don't belong, keep it in your pants... 8)
I reckon heterosexual druggies do keep it in there pants, yet they seems to be a high percentage of them who have HIV (maybe they are closet queens) :roll:
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Major Thom »

Or maybe they have contacted it through infected needles DJ, that's fairly common.
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by DJKeefy »

My post was tongue-in-cheek reply MT, stating there is more ways to get HIV than sticking your tool up someones backside like Who2 keeps suggesting.

A Study in 2008: found that 44 percent of straight men and 36 percent of straight women admitted to having had anal sex.

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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Major Thom »

It does sound like a few people do not know that there are many ways to get HIV without Anal Sex....
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Re: Huge increase in new HIV cases in Egypt

Post by Dusak »

All us members realize that fact because we are all very well educated people, our collective intelligence knows no bounds.
Life is your's to do with as you wish- do not let other's try to control it for you. Count Dusak- 1345.
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