HIV kills millions of people all over the world and infects several others. It remains the most dreaded disease of the 21st century. The fact that HIV/AIDS has no permanent cure makes it even more threatening. Attempts are being made to control the rapid spread of this disease. There are several government and private agencies which publish information on how is HIV transmitted along with HIV transmission statistics from time to time. These statistics are often indicative of the extent to which HIV has spread in our society and what are the most affected groups. In this article, we are going to understand what is the rate of female to male HIV transmission.
Female to Male HIV Transmission
According to HIV transmission statistics, out of the total cases of HIV diagnosed, about 75% constitute for male patients. HIV transmission rate is highest for male to male transmission. Anal sex has been identified as the primary cause of such high transmission rates amongst homosexual males. The mucus membranes in the anal region rupture while having anal sex, thereby increasing the risk of viral exposure. During vaginal intercourse, this risk is greatly minimized. However, it is still there for heterosexual couples who indulge in anal sex.
HIV transmission is dependent upon viral load, the stage of infection of the infected person, type of body fluid transmitted, presence of any other sexually transmitted disease and so on. Viral load is more in genital fluids, blood as compared to tears sweat etc. During a female to male intercourse, the uninfected man is at much lesser risk of contracting the infection, as the amount of infected woman’s cervical fluid exposed to him does not contain enough viral load to actually cause infection. This is primarily the reason why female to male transmission is possible only in 0.005% cases, as opposed to 0.1% in male to female contact. The risk increases with multiple, unknown partners.
Incidentally, the risk of female to male HIV transmission also increases when the infected woman is pregnant. Suppressed immune system and increased viral load are the two factors responsible for the increased risk of transmission. Besides, the minimal use of condom during pregnancy also contributes to the risk of infection to healthy males from infected women. Also the risk increases with an infected woman who is also suffering from STDs like genital herpes etc. These diseases provide a free access to the virus directly to the lymph nodes. Men suffering from genital herpes can also easily contract disease from their HIV infected female partners. Also, uncircumcised males are considered to be at a higher risk of contracting HIV than their circumcised counterparts. Read more…