HIV/AIDS and Women Who Have Sex with Women (WSW) in the United States

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Controla and Prevention (U.S.)
• Description:
  The biologic risk of transmission through female-to-female sex is unknown, but case reports of female-to-female transmission of HIV and the well docu- mented risk of female-to-male transmission of HIV indicate that vaginal secretions and menstrual blood are potentially infectious and that mucous membrane (e.g. oral, vaginal) exposure to these secretions can potentially lead to HIV infection. Information from HIV/AIDS surveillance, however, suggests that female-to-female transmission of HIV is a rare occurrence.
  
  Through December 1996, 85,500 women were reported withAIDS. Of these, 1,648 were reported to have had sex with women; however, the vast majority had other risks (such as injection drug use, sex with high-risk men, or receipt of blood or blood prod- ucts). Of the 333 (out of 1,648) who were reported to have had sex only with women, 97% of these women also had another riskinjection drug use in most cases.
• Subjects:
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control
  • HIV Infections/prevention & control
  • Homosexuality, Female
  • Population Surveillance
  • Public Health
  • Women
• Series:
  CDC Fact Sheet
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Pages in Document:
  2 numbered pages
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/111298/cdc_111298_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 149.54 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:575f74fd834275f5329ce2a738a029938c0818326dd2506bbe829eb6830fe3c28f627fbe826545fb8e92749748ccad1c2dc8dd2d31cdffbc7b64728426ca1e47