Female-to-Male HIV Transmission Risk Doubles During Pregnancy

A new research study shows that men in a relationship with HIV-positive women doubles their infection risk for the disease.

Healthfinder.gov reported that the two-year study started in Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. There were over 3,300 couples in this study in which one was HIV-positive. Doctor Nelly Mugo of the University of Nairobi and the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya and investigators from the University of Washington in Seattle tracked the couples. The breakdown on the couples included: 1,085 couples in which the man was HIV-positive and 2,236 couples in which the woman was HIV-positive. Infection from women appeared to from different factors, including sexual behavior. For the men, circumcision status, viral overload and whether they engaged in unprotected sex had no impact on their risk for transmission. One of the main reasons for the infection risk might be attributed to both immunological and physiological changes that are triggered by pregnancy. This study is not the final conclusion on this subject. Health officials indicate that further research is needed.