HIV/AIDS in Women 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. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Find an Expert AIDS.gov AIDS.gov AIDSinfo Department of Health and Human Services NIAID Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: HIV/AIDS in Women National Institutes of 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 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 Women and HIV/AIDS in the United States Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Symptoms HIV Symptoms Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Living With HIV/AIDS: Women’s Health AIDS.gov Managing Your Treatment of HIV/AIDS Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Specifics MedlinePlus: HIV/AIDS and Pregnancy National Library of Medicine Related Issues Minority Women’s Health: HIV/AIDS Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Prevention and Risk Factors Practice Safer Sex Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Preventing HIV with Medicine Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Journal Articles HIV/AIDS in Women Treatments and Therapies Treatments for HIV/AIDS Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Start Here Women and HIV New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center Women and HIV Food and Drug Administration Women and HIV/AIDS Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
