Public Health Commons^™

Finding Hiv-Infected Women - The Clinician's Role, Mary Guinan

Public Health Faculty Publications

An estimated 100,000 women are currently infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States, and a great majority of them are unaware of their condition. Approximately 20,000 HIV-infected women were identified through publicly funded HIV screening programs in 1989 and 1990, and an unknown number through private screening. Because most HIV-infected women are believed to be in the lower socioeconomic strata, it is unlikely that a significant number were identified in the private sector. Therefore, up to 80% of HIV-positive women may not know they are infected.