HIV/AIDS

Minority Women's Health > Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians > Health Topics > HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV weakens your immune system, which makes it hard for your body to fight off other health problems that it could normally resist. As time goes on, your body becomes less able to fight off diseases.

Today, women account for one out of every four new HIV cases in the U.S. Even though Asian American women tend to have lower HIV rates than other racial/ethnic groups, they are still at risk and need to protect themselves.

Take these steps to protect yourself:

• Use latex condoms every time you have any kind of sex (vaginal, oral, or anal).
• If you use drugs and cannot or will not stop injecting drugs, use new, sterile syringes to prepare and inject drugs.
• If you're getting a tattoo or having your body pierced, ask what procedures they use to prevent the spread of HIV. If they do not use new, sterilized, or disinfected equipment, go somewhere else.

Publications

1.   Women and HIV/AIDS - Womenshealth.gov created the Women and HIV/AIDS web page to provide women and their loved ones with resources and information they can use to get help. This web page contains links to HIV/AIDS publications about prevention, testing, living with the disease, opportunistic infections, care, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy, legislation and rights, financial assistance, research and clinical trials, personal stories, and AIDS worldwide.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/HIV/

2.   HIV Infection in Minority Populations - This fact sheet addresses the growing number of reported AIDS cases in minority communities, clinical research that has been done, and current epidemiological research.

   http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/Minor.htm

3.   HIV Infection In Women - AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death for women aged 25 to 44 in the United States. This fact sheet addresses the special concerns that women with HIV face.

   http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/womenhiv.htm

4.     HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders - This fact sheet contains statistics, risk factors and barriers to prevention, and prevention techniques for HIV/AIDS infection among Asians and Pacific Islanders.

   http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/PDF/API.pdf

5.   HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders - This fact sheet discusses HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders. In recent years, the number of AIDS diagnoses among Asians and Pacific Islanders has increased steadily.

   http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/API.htm

6. HIV Factsheets (Copyright © APIAHF) - This on-line publication contains links to materials that discuss HIV/AIDS and the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States.

   http://www.apiahf.org/programs/hivcba/resources/facts.htm

Organizations

1.   Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHSTP, CDC, OPHS, HHS
2.   Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC), OMH, OPHS, OS, HHS
3. Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
4. Association of Asian/Pacific Community Health Organizations
5. National Minority AIDS Council

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of December 2007