More HIV Among Black Women Than Previously Thought
The incidence and prevalence of HIV among African-American women is much higher than previously thought in several “hotspots” around the country, according to a new study carried out by a national team of experts and led by Sally Hodder, MD, from the New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School.
Dr. Hodder presented the findings of the study at the “19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)”. Their study - “HPTN 064 Women’s HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS)”, from the HIV Prevention Trials Network - found that from a cohort study of 2,099 adult females, the HIV positive rate was 0.24%. 88% of the women in this study were African-American. Their rate is five times higher than the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimate for black women.
Their findings showed that HIV rates of their sample population were not that different from those found in sub-Saharan Africa - Congo 0.28% and Kenya 0.53%. The researchers explained that their findings underscore the considerable HIV transmission that currently exists within some US populations, including adult African-American females at risk.
The study focused on six geographical areas in the USA, which are known to have higher HIV rates, as well as above-average levels of poverty.
Dr. Hodder said:
“We have known that black women in the US are disproportionately impacted by HIV, however, the magnitude of this disparity in areas hardest hit by the HIV epidemic underscores the gravity of the problem.”
66% of all new female HIV infections occur in black women in the USA - however, only 14% of US females are African-American. Approximately one quarter of all reported new HIV infections in America are female cases.
The HIV death rate (adjusted) among African-American adult females is 15 times more than for Caucasian women, the authors reported.