She worries that if her sisters knew, they would be too frightened to take care of her two young children after she dies. Because the women, run down by the hard lives they lead and the many children they bear, are most likely to show symptoms first, husbands will not believe that they have been faithful and sometimes throw them out of the house or beat them like Esther Xolo. Her husband now believes that their last two children are not his. On a recent visit, Ms. Xolo burst into tears, begging the workers to talk to her husband, who has taken to living on his own and hoarding the food the workers take to the family. Even though the disease is often not acknowledged, the villages have seen enough AIDS so that suspicion runs high.
Some patients live in virtual isolation because of it.
Vusumuzi Tabhu, who has told no one he is suffering from AIDS, has gotten little help from his family since he came home last year. On a recent day he greeted the workers will a grin. He had been feeling better in the last few days and had done his laundry. They teased him about having found a girlfriend, an exchange that he clearly enjoyed. But the workers say he suffers a great deal.