Women and HIV Infection

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
4 #Backgo under
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
WOMEN AND HIV INFECTION
A decade into the epidemic, AIDS ranks as sixth leading cause of death for American women.
The disease so severely affects women in New York City that it is the primary cause of death in
women aged 25 to 44.
The number of women infected by HIV is steadily increasing. As of March 1993, the U. S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 32,000 American women
are reported to have AIDS. Epidemiologists believe that the actual number of women with AIDS is
greater because many women whose immune systems are severely compromised by HIV infection
remain undiagnosed and unreported. The CDC revised the definition of AIDS in January 1993 to add
three new conditions, one of which is specific to women--invasive cervical cancer.
The majority of HIV-infected women are black or Hispanic. Many also are affected by poverty
and injection drug use, which place them and their children at greater risk for HIV infection. Although
such conditions are pervasive in cities, trends suggest that HIV infection is increasing more rapidly
in non-metropolitan areas than in urban areas.
NIAID Epidemiologic Studies of Women With HIV/AIDS
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) considers HIV infection in
women a major research focus. NIAID supports studies of the natural history, symptoms and
transmission of HIV infection in women to learn more about the disease in women and to design better
clinical trials of potential therapies and vaccines. Such studies are carried out in the United States and
in 11 other countries: Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda,
Senegal, Uganda and Zaire.
More Information Needed
The increasing number of women with HIV infection underscores the need for targeted studies
of women. Recognizing this need, CDC and MIAID are working together to establish a large-scale
natural history study of women and HIV infection. The CDC sites opened in 1992, and the MIAID
sites will be funded in 1993. The study, called the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), will
identify clinical signs of HIV infection in women, describe the pattern and rate of immune system
decline and examine potential co-factors that can affect disease progression, The study investigators
will seek further information on the length of survival and quality of life for HIV-infected women.

III11 III 111111111 iii II 111111111I
5571095.0290.006