KRISHNAGIRI: In a tragic incident highlighting the continued stigma related to HIV/AIDS, a 40-year-old woman near Hosur strangled to death her nine-year-old son before ending her life on Sunday, a week after learning that they had contracted the virus from her husband.
Police said Rekha (name changed) of Krishnagiri district had quarrelled with her husband a few months ago after he tested positive for HIV and started treatment. Rekha, their son and teenage daughter subsequently tested for the virus and last week the results showed that mother and son were positive and daughter negative.
On Saturday night, Rekha and the boy went to sleep in one room, while the girl and husband slept in another. The next morning, her husband found their bodies. Police said Rekha had strangled her son to death and then died by suicide. Based on a complaint filed by Rekha’s relative, police have launched a probe into the deaths.
A Krishnagiri official of the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) told TNIE that they were initially unaware of the incident and said the authenticity of the test results needs to be verified.
Awareness programmes regarding HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were conducted in 20 villages in the district last month, the official said, stressing that suicide is never a solution.
“Proper counselling will be given to the affected persons, and their details will be kept private. The community should support those living with HIV and not isolate them,” the official said. It may be noted that with antiretroviral therapy (ART), persons with HIV/AIDS are able to live long, healthy lives.
(If in distress or having suicidal thoughts, call 104 for health department’s helpline that offers counselling or 044- 24640050 for Sneha suicide helpline)