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Zuma's chances of HIV infection highlighted

    JOHANNESBURG

    Expert witnesses on Thursday discussed the possibility of former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma having contracted HIV from the woman he allegedly raped.

    The South African Press Association reported that Zuma had admitted to having unprotected consensual sex with his accuser, despite being aware of her HIV-positive status.

    Virology specialist Prof Desmond Martin told the Johannesburg High Court that the risk of infection through unprotected sex was three in 10,000, but this increased in the presence of bleeding, abrasions and genital ulcerations, among other factors.

    Doctors who examined the complainant shortly after the alleged assault testified that she had sustained a five-millimetre tear in her vagina.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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