Women and HIV/AIDS

The first case of HIV in a woman was recorded in 1981.[1] Since then, numerous women have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. The main direct causes of HIV and AIDS are sexual activity and drug use.[2]

History

Historically, women have often been excluded from HIV and AIDS advocacy, treatment, and research. At the start of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, medical and scientific communities did not recognize women as a group for research. Women were excluded from clinical trials of medication and preventative measures. They were also often blocked from being subjects in clinical research with exclusionary with restrictions like "no pregnant or non-pregnant women".[3] The National Institutes of Health (NIH) rejected grants that were targeted at understanding HIV in low-income women of ethnic minorities.[3] This lack of attention is often attributed to the prominence of the gay rights movement in the area of HIV and AIDS. HIV's clinical symptoms differ between men and women, and the focus on male symptoms caused medical professionals to overlook symptoms in women.

The first case of HIV in a woman in the US was reported in 1981.[1] In December 1982, the first cases of mother-to-child HIV transmission were recorded. The number of children infected with the virus increased throughout the decade. Zidovudine (ZDV), alternatively named azidothymidine (AZT), was introduced as a drug to treat HIV in the late 1980s, reducing the chance of mother-to-child transmission by up to 70%.[4][5]

As of 2019, women account for about 20% of reported HIV cases.[2] The two major modes of transmission to women are heterosexual sexual intercourse and intravenous drug use.[2]

Factors that increase the likelihood of HIV in women include lack of access to high-quality healthcare, injecting drugs, being a sex worker, and low income. Due to shame, many women who have been diagnosed to have HIV or AIDS do not report the matter to others or seek proper treatment.

Timeline

1982

1983

  • The NIH began to hire female nurses such as Barbara Fabian Baird to research AIDS.[6][8]
  • The Women's AIDS Network was established.[6][9]
  • The CDC added "female sexual partners of males with AIDS" as a risk category.[10][11][12]

1984

  • Social worker Caitlyn Ryan became the first executive director of AID Atlanta, the oldest AIDS service organization in the Southwestern US.[13]

1985

1986

  • Women represented 7% of cases of AIDS in the US.[6][15]
  • The first book about AIDS policy, AIDS: A Public Health Challenge, was co-authored by Caitlyn Ryan. It served as a guide to many public officials.[6][16]
  • Marie St. Cyr became the first director of the New York-based Women and AIDS Resource Network (WARN).[6][17]

1987

  • The NIH allocated 13.5% of its total budget to women's health issues.[6]
  • At the time, women were excluded from HIV trials unless they used birth control. No specifically AIDS- or HIV-related medical assistance or gynecological (relating to the female reproductive system and the breasts) care was provided.[3][6]
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ZDV (AZT) as the first antiretroviral drug to treat AIDS.[15][18]

1988

1990

  • The First National Women and HIV Conference was held in Washington, DC.[4][6]
  • The [John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County]] in Chicago, the only hospital in the city with an AIDS ward at the time, refused to admit women. Demonstrators set up a ward in a street in protest, and 35 protestors were arrested. Women were admitted to the ward two days after the protest.[6]
  • The Women's Caucus of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) wrote Women, AIDS, and activism.[4]
  • On May 21, ACT UP members protested for the NIH to include women and people of color in HIV trials and treatment research.[5]

1992

1993

  • The US Congress enacted the NIH Revitalization Act, giving the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) primary oversight of all AIDS research in the NIH. The act required all agencies to include women and ethnic minorities in research.[4][5]
  • Gena Corea's book, The Story of Women and AIDS: The Invisible Epidemic, was published.[6]
  • HIV became the leading cause of death for African-American women aged 25–44.[20]

1994

  • On August 5, the US Public Health Service recommended that HIV-positive women take ZDV (AZT) to reduce the chance for perinatal transmission (infection through birth) of HIV, citing an ACTG 076 study that concluded that the drug reduces transmission by up to 70%.[4][5][6]
  • The US Department of Health and Human Services issued orders that all grants that requested funding from the NIH must address and include the "appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research".[4][5]

1996

  • The annual number of new AIDS cases in the US declined because of antiretroviral therapies.[6]

1997

  • Women accounted for more than half of all cases of HIV globally.[6]
  • In the US, 75% of diagnosed HIV cases were in African-American women.[6]
gollark: PHP is the enemy of mankind. PHP must be destroyed at all costs. Unless the costs involve using COBOL or something.
gollark: It's the internet. Roving bot things are automatically scanning probably every publicly routable device and trying exploits constantly (my webserver logs are filled with what looks like exploits on poorly designed PHP/CGI applications). Don't make their job easier.
gollark: <@428037846721626123> How could you possibly think that an internet-exposed anonymous FTP server was a good idea?
gollark: This does not appear funny, and would be in the wrong channel if it was.
gollark: The whole "thoughts as viruses" idea generally calls them "memes", actually.

References
  1. Dean, Hazel D.; Lee, Lisa M.; Thompson, Melanie; Dannemiller, Tracy (November 2004). "Impact of HIV on Women in the United States1". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 10 (11): 2030–2031. doi:10.3201/eid1011.04-062308. ISSN 1080-6040. PMC 3363322. PMID 16010735.
  2. "amfAR :: Statistics: Women and HIV/AIDS :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". www.amfar.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  3. "A history of HIV/AIDS in women: Shifting narrative and a structural call to arms". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  4. Jul 20, Published; 2018 (2018-07-20). "Global HIV/AIDS Timeline". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 2019-04-25.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "A Timeline of HIV and AIDS". HIV.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  6. Wilder, From Terri. "A Timeline of Women Living With HIV: Past, Present and Future". TheBody.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  7. "A Report on Women and HIV/AIDS in the U.S." (PDF). Kaiser Family Foundation. April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  8. "In Their Own Words". History of the United States National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  9. "Finding Aid to the Women's AIDS Network (WAN) Records, 1985-1992". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  10. "The New York City AIDS Memorial". The New York City AIDS Memorial. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  11. "History of HIV and AIDS overview". AVERT. 2015-07-20. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  12. "Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Immunodeficiency among Female Sexual Partners of Males with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) -- New York". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  13. Wilder, Terri; M.S.W.June 1; 2012. "A Timeline of Women Living With HIV: Past, Present and Future -- 1984 | TheBody". www.thebody.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "Our History in Pictures". San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  15. "The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program - A Living History". Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  16. Robinson, Adjoa. "In Social Work Podcast Series" (PDF). In Social Work. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  17. Treichler, Paula A. (1999). How to Have Theory in an Epidemic: Cultural Chronicles of AIDS. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822323181.
  18. "Approval of AZT News". AIDSinfo. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  19. Maggenti, Maria. Interview with Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard. ACTUP Oral History Project. February 16, 2005. MIX: The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival. December 11, 2005, Actupralhistory.org
  20. "Timeline: 30 Years of AIDS in Black America". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.