KUWAIT: In an alarming interview with local daily Al-Rai, an HIVinfected citizen blew the whistle on the increasing numbers of HIV patients in Kuwait, and stressed that the officially declared numbers of 300 cases was not true and that the real number was way over 1,000.

The patient, referred to as Abu Mohammad, said that he contracted HIV/AIDS in 2011 when he had unprotected sexual intercourse on a trip to Europe. He was first diagnosed as HIV positive in 2013 when he conducted some premarital medical tests.

Responding to a question about the chances of getting AIDS in Kuwait, Abu Mohammad stressed that they were great, especially since it only costs KD 100 to bring a prostitute to Kuwait on a visit visa and charge KD 20 a night at any apartment hotel. He also stressed that many absconding women resort to such brothels to practice their illegal trade. Abu Mohammad also spoke about serious security breaches in dealing with visiting HIV-positive women, especially those arriving from Europe to practice prostitution in Kuwait. “They have their appointments booked online and come to do business with already booked clients,” he explained, adding that these visitors are not medically examined on entry, adding that many of the women arrested for vice and prostitution are released without even being subjected to HIV tests. “I personally know scores of brothels in various areas around Kuwait,” he said, noting that he knew at least five Asian ‘pleasure brokers’ who can provide prostitutes of various nationalities for prices varying between KD 50-100 for a European woman and KD 5-15 for others.

Alarmingly, Abu Mohammad claimed that some police agents know about these brothels and that they have been bribed to warn them prior to any vice police raids. He also noted that some of these agents even had affairs with infected women and that they would soon develop HIV symptoms. In another alarming testimony, Abu Mohammad said that because HIV patients can only go to dentists on Mondays, they usually go to dentists without telling them of their health condition until they have been treated. “What can I do? Do I have to wait until Monday if I have a sudden toothache?” Abu Mohammad also said that the number of female HIV patients was growing and that many of them prefer giving birth to their babies at private hospitals, paying as much as KD 5,000 to avoid going to public hospitals where they may be exposed, in addition to being dealt extremely cautiously by medical staff. “It is easy to bribe an Asian public hospital porter to get a copy of any patient’s file, and this was what former MP Hussein Al- Quwaiaan said when he spoke about HIV cases with detailed numbers and names in parliament,” he said.

To prove his knowledge of prostitution’s ins and out in Kuwait, Abu Mohammad telephoned two pimps during the interview inquiring about the number of brothels each knew about in various areas and their prices. Finally, Abu Mohammad declared that he has been suffering although he has received proper treatment and his HIV count has dropped to zero, because he cannot find anyone to marry after his first marriage broke up. —Al-Rai