HIV/AIDS in Women

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Basics

• Summary
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• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

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• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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Summary

HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, kills or damages cells of the body's immune system. The most advanced stage of infection with HIV is AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

HIV often spreads through unprotected sex with an infected person. It may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of an infected person.

Women can get HIV more easily during vaginal sex than men can. And if they do get HIV, they have unique problems, including:

• Complications such as repeated vaginal yeast infections, severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and a higher risk of cervical cancer
• Different side effects from the drugs that treat HIV
• The risk of giving HIV to their baby while pregnant or during childbirth

There is no cure, but there are many medicines to fight both HIV infection and the infections and cancers that come with it. People can live with the disease for many years.

Start Here

• Women and HIV (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Women and HIV/AIDS (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Get Tested for HIV (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Top Questions About HIV Prevention and Women (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)

Specifics

• HIV/AIDS and Pregnancy: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• HIV among Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV in Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
• Women and HIV/AIDS in the United States (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: HIV/AIDS in Women (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Abnormal Vaginal Pap Test After Hysterectomy in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected...
• Article: The 2013 HIV Continuum of Care in Tennessee: Progress Made,...
• Article: The Transgender Women of Color Initiative: Implementing and Evaluating Innovative...
• HIV/AIDS in Women -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• AIDS.gov
• AIDSinfo (Department of Health and Human Services) Also in Spanish
• NIAID Division of AIDS (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)