Winnipeg women who got HIV from ex-lover speak out

Two Winnipeg women who allege they contracted HIV/AIDS from a man who failed to disclose his medical condition spoke out Tuesday in an effort to warn others whom he might have infected.

Winnipeg police have confirmed they are in the process of obtaining an arrest warrant for the man, who might now be living in Calgary.

While he has not been identified, the women involved, who did not want their names or images of them made public, said he is a Sudanese man in his mid-20s who came to Canada about 10 years ago.

One of the women, who is 29, said she met the man a year ago and had sex with him on two occasions.

'I love life ... to think that someone is going to take that away from somebody else hurts.' — 24-year-old woman with HIV/AIDS

"I had put a condom on, and he had taken it off without me knowing," she said.

Weeks later, the woman started feeling sick.

"I noticed my energy starting to drop, and by December, my energy completely vanished," she said.

Her doctor confirmed her HIV diagnosis, and she assumed the worst.

"I thought I was going to die," she said. "I assumed I was going to die a horrible death."

She gave up her job at a Winnipeg group home to care for her health and has been receiving retroviral treatment.

The woman's friend, who is 24, had sex with the same man weeks after the 29-year-old did and also tested positive for HIV.

"If he had perhaps just left the condom on, it wouldn't have happened," the 24-year-old said.

The women went together to make statements to police. They said they don't want to see other women suffer but fear their former partner might have infected other women in Winnipeg.

"I love life," the 24-year-old said. "Just to think that someone is going to take that away from somebody else hurts, and I just couldn't sleep at night knowing that was going to happen."

Other than confirming they are seeking the arrest warrant, police have said nothing else about the case. Health officials have not issued a public warning.