The number of women with HIV infection and AIDS continues to increase worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 17.5 million women worldwide were infected with HIV by the end of 2005.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 2000 through 2004, the estimated number of AIDS cases in the United States increased 10% among females and 7% among males. In 2004, women accounted for 27% of the 44,615 newly reported AIDS cases among adults and adolescents. HIV disproportionately affects African-American and Hispanic women. Together they represent less than 25% of all U.S. women, yet they account for more than 79% of AIDS cases in women.
In the United States, most women are infected with HIV during sex with an HIV-infected man or while using HIV-contaminated syringes for the injection of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines. Of the new HIV infections diagnosed among women in the United States in 2004, the CDC estimated 70% were attributed to heterosexual contact and 28% to injection drug use.
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