Human immunodeficiency virus, which is often shortened to HIV, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome, frequently called AIDS, are very serious conditions. By the end of 2003, 19.2 million women were living with HIV or AIDS worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 37,000 Americans, including more than 9,700 females, were diagnosed with AIDS through 2005.

While more women may be becoming infected with HIV than in previous years, due to modern treatments, they are also living with the virus for a longer time and with a better quality of life. If you have HIV or AIDS, follow your doctor’s orders closely. Take your medications exactly as prescribed and inform your doctor of any changes in your health. Other tips to help you deal with HIV or AIDS on a day-to-day basis include:

1. Know the facts. Virtually all people with HIV will go on to develop AIDS. However, it can take a decade or more before HIV develops into full-blown AIDS. The rate of HIV infections that develop into full-blown AIDS among women in the United States has plateaued after rising steadily in recent years. This is largely a result of more effective therapies that keep the virus at bay. However, younger women are increasingly being diagnosed with HIV infection. Women age 15 to 39 accounted for around 60 percent of the female HIV and AIDS diagnoses reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2004.
   
   

   In addition, rates of HIV infection among women of color have risen. In 2004, HIV infection was the leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 to 34 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

   • African American and Hispanic American or Latina women account for 82 percent of AIDS diagnoses among women in the United States from 2001 through 2004, despite composing just one-fourth of the country's female population.
     
     
   • More African American infants are infected with HIV or AIDS before birth than infants of other races. In 2004, an estimated 145 infants were born with the disease. Of these, 73 percent were African American.
     
     
   • American Indian and Alaska Native women are becoming infected more frequently. The rates of infection in these groups are higher than for whites and Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, but lower than those of African Americans and Hispanics.
     
     

2. Finally, HIV can infect older women who are sexually active as easily as it infects younger women. Women past the age of menopause may not be concerned about safe sex because pregnancy is no longer an issue. Some older women may be less educated about HIV and AIDS and ways to prevent infection. In addition, some doctors may be more reluctant to discuss the issue with older women, or more likely to mistake HIV-related symptoms for routine signs of aging. For these reasons, older women must be involved in seeking out preventive care.

   Pregnant women can pass the HIV infection on to their babies during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. Precautions can be taken to help an expectant mother reduce the likelihood of passing HIV to her child. Because of this, there has recently been a change in the requirement of routine prenatal HIV testing in many places.
   
   

3. Avoid contact with the HIV virus. If you are never exposed to HIV, you cannot be infected. If you are infected, you should strive to avoid infecting other people. HIV can be transmitted in several ways, including:

    

   • Sexual contact. An infected person can transmit the virus to a sexual partner through semen or vaginal secretions that enter the partner's body. A woman can be infected by either a man or a woman. Vaginal, anal and oral sex are all potential avenues of transmission. Shared sexual devices can also transmit the virus when the device is not disinfected or covered with a condom.
     
     

     The virus usually enters the body of a sexual partner through tiny tears in the vagina or rectum. The likelihood of transmission greatly increases in people who already have another sexually transmitted disease.

     You should also be aware that certain spermicides may irritate the lining of the vagina, causing tears that can increase the risk of transmission.
     
     

   • Mother-to-child transmission. Women can transmit HIV to their children through pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. However, this risk declines significantly when mothers receive treatment for their HIV infection. In the United States, pregnant women are routinely screened for HIV infection. Those who test positive are prescribed anti-retroviral drugs.
     
     
   • Infected blood. HIV can be transmitted through blood and blood products used in blood transfusions. Blood products include whole blood, packed red blood cells, fresh-frozen plasma and platelets. If you received a blood transfusion between 1977 and April 1985, you have had a higher risk for exposure to HIV than those who have received transfusions since 1985. This is especially true if you received multiple transfusions, such as for the treatment of hemophilia. Hemophilia is a disease characterized by delayed clotting of the blood. The U.S. blood supply has been screened for HIV since 1985, nearly eliminating the risk of contracting HIV through the blood supply since that time.
     
     
   • Tainted needles. HIV is easily transmitted through needles and syringes that have come into contact with infected blood, and then are used by someone who does not yet have the virus. Drug addicts who share intravenous drug paraphernalia are especially at risk for this method of transmission. Healthcare workers and others are also sometimes infected when they are accidentally stuck with a needle that has been in contact with an infected person.
     
     
   • Other methods. In rare cases, HIV may be transmitted through organ or tissue transplants or unsterilized dental or surgical equipment. There is also a small chance of infection during open-mouth kissing if there is contact with blood.
     
     

4. Most cases of HIV infection in women are the result of sexual contact with infected men, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Use of needles tainted with the virus during intravenous drug use is the second most common method of transmission among women.
   
   

5. Keep up with ongoing research. Clinical trials are under way to test several drugs designed to treat HIV and AIDS, or infections related to the virus. One medication attacks HIV in the last stages of its life cycle, and another prevents the virus from entering healthy cells.
   
   

   Clinical trials are also being conducted to test dozens of potential AIDS vaccines, although experts generally do not expect an effective vaccine to be available for many years.

   Researchers also are making promising strides in the hope of protecting women from HIV. Scientists are developing a topically applied drug called a microbicide that kills the HIV virus and STDs during sex while also protecting vaginal tissue. A microbicide is an agent that destroys microbes.