USA HIV & AIDS Statistics for Women

Graphic Version of the Heading

Since the beginning of the US epidemic, an estimated 189,566 adult and adolescent women have been diagnosed with AIDS within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. For these women, heterosexual contact was the most common route of HIV transmission, accounting for more than half of all infections.

Among new HIV diagnoses, the proportion probably due to high-risk heterosexual contact is even higher - around 80% in 2006.

Estimated adult and adolescent female HIV diagnoses by exposure category (33 states only)

Exposure category Year of diagnosis
2003 2004 2005 2006
Injection drug user 2,027 1,856 1,720 1,712
High-risk heterosexual contact 7,731 7,182 7,216 7,432
Other/risk unknown 132 107 97 109
Total 9,892 9,145 9,033 9,252

Estimated adult and adolescent female AIDS diagnoses by exposure category (50 states and D.C.)

Exposure category Year of diagnosis Cumulative total,
all years
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Injection drug user 2,897 2,836 2,810 2,586 2,385 74,718
High-risk heterosexual contact 6,855 7,336 7,113 6,922 7,196 108,252
Other/risk unknown 207 217 217 205 220 6,596
Total 9,959 10,389 10,141 9,713 9,801 189,566

Notes

The latest statistics on AIDS & HIV in the USA were published in March 2008 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The next data are due November 2008.

There is often a delay between the time of diagnosis of HIV or AIDS, or the time of death, and the time at which the event is reported. Moreover, this delay may differ among different categories of people. For this reason the CDC estimates the number of diagnoses, deaths and people living with HIV or AIDS by adjusting for reporting delays, taking into account the differences between categories. The CDC also redistributes cases into exposure categories if none was initially reported. No adjustment is made for incomplete reporting. On this page, all numbers are CDC estimates.

On this page "adults and adolescents" are defined as persons aged 13 years or more. The term "exposure category" refers to the most probable route of transmission of HIV infection. The "high-risk heterosexual contact" category comprises persons who report specific heterosexual contact with a person with, or at high risk for, HIV infection (e.g., an injection drug user). This does not include adults and adolescents born in, or who had sex with someone born in, a country where heterosexual transmission was believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission, unless they meet the criteria stated in the previous sentence.

The HIV statistics presented on this page include only the 33 states with a history of confidential name-based HIV reporting, as listed in our USA AIDS statistics summary. The AIDS statistics include all 50 states of the USA and the District of Columbia.

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Last updated April 02, 2008