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Women now constitute approximately 40% of all AIDS cases worldwide, and approximately 32% of all AIDS cases in Panama. The majority of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected women have now become infected by heterosexual contact. Risk factors for such heterosexual transmission are presence of another sexually transmitted disease, ulcerative or not ulcerative, lack of circumcision, cervical atopia, intercourse during menses, high viral load in the HIV positive sexual partner. Early signs and symptoms of HIV disease in women include recurrent vaginal candidiasis, co-infection with Human Papilloma Virus. The opportunity of Human Immunodeficiency Virus transmission per contact from woman to man is approximately 0.03% to 0.09%, while that for man to woman is approximately 0.05% to 0.15%. The epidemic has been mainly heterosexual in nature in Africa and Thailand while these differences may due to only to social factors it is possible that certain subtypes are more efficiently transmitted heterosexually. The consistent use of condoms has been shown to protect both men and women from HIV infection, other strategies to decrease the transmission of HIV to woman include the control of other sexually transmitted infection, change risky sexual behavior, use of antiretroviral therapy, but one of the most important control measures will be education and a better living conditions for the women.
