By Genevieve Jiang

IF parents at the school where John was teaching had found out about his HIV condition, would they have been able to accept him interacting closely with their children?

If a colleague's reaction is any gauge, the answer is probably not.

The colleague, a father of two young children, said he would be worried if his children's teacher were HIV-positive.

'What if he injures or cuts himself while playing sports with the kids? If he was a music trainer and shared wind instruments with my kids, what then?'

Considering that my colleague is enlightened and open-minded on most social issues, this mindset is worrying.

MISCONCEPTIONS COMMON

Despite countless media reports over the past 20 years, Aids is still very much a misunderstood illness.

Mr Lionel Lee, AFA's executive director, said there has been no documented evidence of the illness being spread through casual contact, including the sharing of food.

Mr Lee said: 'Even if a HIV-positive person cuts himself playing sports, and someone else comes into contact with his blood, it is not enough to infect the person.'

HIV can only be spread through:

• Unprotected sex
• Sharing needles and syringes
• Blood transfusion
• Mother to child during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Mr Lee said there are no jobs here that HIV-positive patients are advised not to take up, except positions in healthcare.

He said: 'That's because HIV patients have a lower immunity than normal, and it's not good for them to be in an environment where they are constantly exposed to infection.'

HIV patients here are not required by law to declare their illness to their employers, unless stated in their contract.

Guidelines by the Singapore National Employers' Federation do not recommend that HIV screening be made mandatory.

Under the Infectious Diseases Act, it is also against the law here for employers to disclose that an employee is HIV-positive.

Such measures are necessary because of the stigma surrounding the illness, despite years of awareness campaigns.

Only when such discrimination is erased will patients like John let go of their fear of identifying themselves.

This story was first published in The New Paper on Aug 5, 2008.