Prostitute infects 500 men with HIV in Zamfara

A woman is now on the run after allegedly infecting no fewer than 500 men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Zamfara State.

The woman, said to be a prostitute, is reported to have hailed from a state in the southern part of the country.

Already, the state’s Sharia police has mounted a manhunt for the fleeing sex worker.

She was said to have moved to Gusau, the state capital, in search of greener pastures before opening a sex shop in her rented apartment in a neighbourhood along Igbo Road.

According to reports, the woman gave the deadly virus to a good number of her customers, among whom are some prominent persons in the state, during the spell of her sex trade.

A source said under the condition of anonymity that things took a bad turn for the woman after she engaged in an open fight with a customer who suddenly accused her of carrying the deadly virus and spreading it to her customers.

Her sudden disappearance from the area, it was learnt, convinced many residents of the truth in the HIV allegation. Her whereabouts are said to still be unknown.

The source disclosed that some of the prominent persons infected had been placed on antiretroviral drugs by their physicians with others having their conditions managed at various health centres in the state.

When contacted, the chairman of the state’s Shari’ah monitoring group known as Hisbah, Dr Atiku Balarabe Zawiyya, said his group was aware of the development and confirmed the disappearance of the suspect after his men stormed her residence to arrest her.

Zawiyya said his group would continue to fight against social decay and moral degradation.