Heterosexual Transmission of HIV in Northern Italy: Its Incidence Among Travelers

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted primarily during homosexual or heterosexual contact. In fact HIV has been recovered in the semen of AIDS-affected men [4], and semen of healthy carriers of HIV has been shown to transmit HIV infection to female recipients of artificial insemination [6]. HIV has been isolated also from cervical and vaginal secretions of female HIV carriers [7, 8]. Many well-documented examples of heterosexually transmitted HIV infections were presented to WHO by many countries all over the world. The data of WHO demonstrate that heterosexual transmission is the commonest way of transmission of HIV in Africa [5]; in Europe the infection has been clearly established and can be expected to spread. The extent of heterosexually acquired infection can be monitored by detecting HIV prevalence in subjects with known heterosexual contact with persons at risk. Today the real extent of HIV among heterosexual active subjects in Italy is unknown; so it is necessary to pursue systematic epidemiological research and to develop adapted information programmes.