Limassol AIDS scare as cabaret artiste tests positive

A UKRANIAN artiste working at a nightclub in Limassol has tested positive for HIV, raising concern about the spread of the virus, given that it is believed the woman was having sexual relations with cabaret customers.

Although the owner of the nightclub where the woman was working denies she had sex with clients, the Ministry of Health confirmed it has started alerting people she may have had sex with in order to get tested.

“The woman had sexual partners during her stay in Cyprus and we have already started the process of informing people with whom she had sexual intercourse,” said Health Minsiter Christos Patsalides.

Nightclub dancers are regularly tested for HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases. The woman arrived in Cyprus three months ago and before starting work she went through all the necessary medical examinations, which did not show anything was wrong. She had another blood test a few days ago, which showed she was HIV positive.

It is therefore thought that the woman either contracted the disease in Cyprus, or just before her arrival, which explains why it was not diagnosed at the initial test. “Based on the medical explanation I was given, there is a period during which it is possible for the virus not to show in a test,” said Patsalides.

Police immediately suspended her residency licence and the young woman was deported last Monday. “The relevant state authorities strictly follow all procedures concerning artistes who come to Cyprus to work, as well as all medical tests,” Patsalides said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.