CDC
officials on Friday at the first International
Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases in Atlanta said that improved
research efforts, educational outreach programs and diagnostic tools are
needed to fight infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, among women, the
AP/San
Francisco Chronicle reports (Yee, AP/San Francisco Chronicle,
2/28). Sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases affect
women at higher rates than men and can be especially detrimental during
pregnancy, CDC Director Julie Gerberding said, adding that almost every
STD can be passed on to a fetus or infant, "sometimes with fatal consequences."
For example, between 60% and 70% of women who are infected with gonorrhea
or chlamydia may be unaware of their infection, and delays in diagnosis
and treatment can lead to chronic pain, stillbirth, infertility and death,
according to the New
York Times. In addition, malaria, one of the most common parasitic
infections, disproportionately affects women and can cause more severe
complications in pregnant women than in women who are not pregnant (Altman,
New
York Times, 2/28). Some health experts say that women are more susceptible
to infectious diseases because they lack access to health information and
services in addition to other social and economic inequities, the AP/Chronicle
reports. "We have a lot of theories but really we don't know why women
and girls are disproportionately affected by these diseases," Gerberding
said. Health officials are urging countries to start collecting separate
health data on women instead of combining data on women and men. In addition,
health officials are being trained to broaden health education for women
and "empower women in health matters," according to the AP/Chronicle
(AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 2/28).
Married African Women at Higher Risk
of HIV
Married African women who are between
the ages of 15 and 19 have higher rates of HIV than sexually active unmarried
women of the same age in the same areas, according to research presented
by officials from UNICEF
and other U.N. agencies on Saturday at the conference, the Times
reports. Although many people believe that having a monogamous partner
in marriage can protect against HIV infection, married women in many parts
of the world have a high risk of contracting HIV, Dr. Paul DeLay of UNAIDS
said. The research, which was conducted in Kisumu, Kenya, and Ndola, Zambia,
found that there is a greater age difference between married teenage women
and their husbands and unmarried sexually active teenage women and their
partners. According to the officials, married teenage women often contract
HIV from their husbands, who usually have become infected before marriage.
The research shows that HIV prevalence is higher among married men, compared
with the boyfriends of teenage women. Dr. Catherine Hankins, chief scientific
adviser for UNAIDS, said, "The striking finding here is that among 15-
to 19-year-old girls who are sexually active in these two settings, the
fact of being married carries significantly higher risk -- in part because
of the increased age differential between spouses and in part because condom
use in marriage has not been promoted." The officials said that the research
shows the "inadequacy" of programs that focus on abstinence among teens
as the primary method of preventing HIV transmission, according to the
Times.
"Common HIV/AIDS protection messages are often inappropriate for married
adolescents who seem to have been a forgotten population," Hankins said
(Altman, New York Times, 2/29). |