Those who have a higher viral load give their non-infected partners a higher risk of being infected with HIV than those with a lower viral load. If you are unsure about your partner's status, read on and you might just decide not to have unprotected sex.

Estimates published in the annual “UNAIDS Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic” in 2002 estimate that more than 40 million adults and children were infected with HIV around the world in 2001. Africa south of the Sahara desert accounts for 28 million of these adults and children. A recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) which was published in December 2002 estimated that 11.4% of South Africans (4.5 million people) are currently living with HIV/AIDS. Also this study clearly demonstrated that young women in South Africa in the age group 25-29 are more at risk for HIV infection.

This data is also supported by the annual Department of Health Ante-natal clinic (ANC) surveys that showed about 24.8% of pregnant women were HIV positive in 2001. This in turn indicates that many thousands of babies would have been infected by their mothers in South Africa during 1999 to 2001. By the end of 2003, it is estimated that there were 1 100 000 AIDS orphans (mother or both parents lost to AIDS) under 15 years of age in South Africa. During 2003, 370 000 people died of AIDS in South Africa.