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The Two Faces of AIDS

By Melissa Meyer

Stories on HIV and AIDS in the newspapers this last month make it seem as though South Africa is facing two rather different epidemics.

The first makes ordinary people its victims: a teenager heading a household who is concerned about his younger brothers; an ailing boy who wants a bicycle with a bell; a young singer that supports 200 orphans with her income.

The second epidemic prefers the company of doctors, scientists and politicians. It is all very complicated. Discussions around the issue are laden with technical terms...