PT Foundation chairman Hisham Hussein said the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug protects people, particularly those who are sexually active, from contracting HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, which can lead to AIDS.

At present, PrEP is only free for legally married couples where one partner is HIV-positive.

Hisham said, however, that “like it or not, people are going to have sex. If you ever had sex without a condom, get tested so that if you’re HIV-positive, you can get treated.”

A combination of treatment for HIV-positive people and PrEP for those who do not have the virus, he said, can reduce or prevent the spread of the virus, which in turn reduces the strain on public resources and lost productivity of treating HIV patients, he told FMT in an interview to mark World Aids Day today.

Leading a normal life 12 years after contracting HIV

A woman who contracted HIV more than a decade ago hopes that Malaysians will stop discriminating against HIV patients, giving her own case as an example.

She said she almost had her new-born child taken from her after she was diagnosed as being HIV-positive.

Tina (not her real name) told FMT that “a few people claiming to be from a government department came to see me at the hospital ward, saying they had been informed by the hospital that both my husband and I were HIV positive and that they would be taking my child into welfare.

“They said we could not raise our child as we were both HIV positive. I flew into such a rage and screamed at them. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to take my child from me.” The so-called officers left and never returned.

Tina said that while she was growing up, she used to think that people who were HIV-positive led a “wild” lifestyle. But that changed when she herself found out in 2007 that she had contracted the virus, which can lead to AIDs.

Tina, now 39, was seven months pregnant at the time and had to deliver the baby prematurely when she began to bleed profusely. “After that, the doctor told me that I was HIV-positive. I was at a loss as to how I could have contracted it. I was shocked and slipped into depression,” she told FMT in a recent interview.

Tina says she contracted HIV from her late husband, the only sexual partner she’s had, who used to be a drug user in his younger days.

“I didn’t know much about the virus, I thought I would get AIDS automatically. I was afraid of going to sleep because I was afraid I wouldn’t wake up again.”

Tina says she is fortunate to have met with members of the HIV community who supported her in her struggles.
The community, she said, comprised of people from all walks of life, some of whom were worse off than her, having been disowned by their families or ditched by their spouses after being diagnosed.

Her experience has taught Tina not to discriminate or judge others, something she hopes others won’t do.

“We shouldn’t judge people, HIV can affect anyone. Just because someone is HIV-positive, it does not mean they are bad or live a certain lifestyle.

“For those who are living with HIV, just know that your disease doesn’t define you or stop you from living a normal life. Focus on maintaining your health, you can be treated.”

PT Foundation chairman Hisham said HIV treatment is free at all government hospitals. “Once you go on treatment and take your medicines as prescribed for around six months, the virus will reach what is known as an ‘undetectable’ level, of less than 50 per milliliter of blood.

“Once the virus reaches and is maintained at an undetectable level, an HIV-positive person will not be able to spread the virus, enabling them to lead a normal life and start a family without transmitting the virus to their spouse and children,” he said.

Tina’s child tested negative at birth, while Tina’s HIV is at an undetectable level, allowing her to lead a normal lifestyle with her child.