I always knew that lesbians had a really low incidents of AIDS/HIV, but today I went on the CDC website and found out just how low. The latest information was only available through 2006, but I think you get the idea:
“To date, there are no confirmed cases of female-to-female sexual transmission of HIV in the United States database (K. McDavid, CDC, oral communication, March 2005).”
“A study of more than 1 million female blood donors found no HIV-infected women whose only risk factor was sex with women. Despite the absence of confirmed cases of female-to-female transmission of HIV, the findings do not negate the possibility.”
That is not to say that there are no lesbians with AIDS: most of them IV drug users or women that have jumped the fence to have occasional sex with a guy. But as far as female-to-female confirmed transmission during sex…nada.
‘Course we do have other STD worries…genital warts, herpes, hepatitis, allergic vaginitis (um, from allergy to toys! Like, make sure you don’t have a latex allergy before you…ya know…), pubic lice, scabies and trichomoniasis. So there is still plenty of reason to practise safe sex, especially with a new partner who has not been tested!
If you are gay or lesbian and are coming out in midlife, please visit my website at www.discoveringpride.com.
Filed under: AIDS, Coming out, STD, health, lesbian, lesbian coaching, lesbian mom, lesbians married to men, lgbt, married and gay, midlife crisis, questioning sexual orientation, sexual orientation
