Deadly Denial

No mystery runs deeper or deadlier than South Africa's baffling relationship with the HIV virus. AIDS is the gravest threat facing the country — 5 million are infected with the virus, and more than 600 die from the disease every day — yet the ignorance and denial that surround it are even more pervasive. "What can I get it from?" and "What is HIV?" are often the first questions people ask Xoliswa Xobololo, an AIDS counselor near the town of Orkney, two hours west of Johannesburg. Xobololo's clinic is run by South Africa's largest gold-mining company, AngloGold, which estimates nearly one-third...