AIDS cases among US women double

The percentage of new cases of AIDS being diagnosed among females in the US more than doubled between 1990 and 2005, research has found.

This has seen the rate increase from 11 per cent to more than 26 per cent, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

In 2005, 64 per cent of women living with AIDS were black, while 15 per cent were Hispanic and one per cent either Asian or Pacific Islander.

Andrea Norberg, interim executive director at the François-Xavier Bagnoud Centre at the UMDNJ, said: "The statistics are ominous but we won't give up the fight against HIV.

"We've seen great progress, especially in preventing mother-to-child transmission and improving quality of life for those infected by HIV. Women should take steps to protect themselves, know their status, and seek early treatment if they do become infected."

UMDNJ is the biggest free-standing public health sciences university in the US.

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