Infectious Disease Blog

I thought that the world had matured and become better informed since the ’80s and early ’90s, when people with HIV and/or AIDS were stigmatized for having the disease. Apparently, I was wrong.

Eight Egyptian men who were suspected of having HIV were arrested and forced to undergo HIV tests, sparking a massive controversy in the country, according to FOX News.

The men were charged for allegedly accepting money for sex in late 2007, according to PlusNews, which provides HIV/AIDS news and analysis. They were then forced to take HIV tests. Two of the men who tested positive were allegedly chained to their hospital beds.

The arrests may affect more than just the eight men detained, according to the BBC:

In a joint press release, Amnesty International and HRW warned that Egypt’s efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly virus could be seriously damaged by the arrests.

“This not only violates the most basic rights of people living with HIV. It also threatens public health, by making it dangerous for anyone to seek information about HIV prevention or treatment,” said Rebecca Schleifer, who works on HIV/Aids issues at HRW.

The BBC article also discusses how some of the men were allegedly beaten after they refused “homosexuality tests.”

The blogger of The Largest Minority said that homosexual acts can be punished in Egypt:

While not specifically referred to in Egypt’s legal code, homosexual acts can be punished under laws covering obscenity, prostitution, and habitual debauchery. With this authority, Egyptian police are targeting suspected homosexuals in a campaign to crack down on HIV.

Instead of tackling the disease itself, Egypt is arresting people suspected of being HIV-positive. Part of the problem is that the country still knows very little about HIV/AIDS, according to the PlusNews article:

“You can find people who know what you are talking about when you talk about AIDS, but I could say that most people who live here don’t know the difference between a person with HIV and a person with AIDS,” said UNAIDS Country Officer Wessam El-Beih. “They will say that this is not something that exists in Egypt.”