Health education specialists in Utah have indicated that heterosexual women are now at the largest risk of contracting HIV and STDs.

Some suggest that because of the stereotype that AIDS is a largely homosexual concern, a large number of heterosexual women are practicing unsafe sex.

This trend is confirmed by the Center for Disease Control statistics gathered from state health departments, which show that while males account for a majority of AIDS cases, the percentage of male cases is declining slightly, while the percentage of female cases is rising.

Jim Vergeront, M.D., director of the Wisconsin AIDS Program and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, attributes the increase in part to a lack of awareness on the part of women.

“I think that in some cases women are not aware that their partner is bisexual or an injection drug-user,” he said. “They sometimes assume the heterosexual risk is small because it is a bigger issue among gay men.”

Wisconsin has had a historically low rate of AIDS compared to other states, according to a report available on the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) website.

“Although historically most (84 percent) persons reported with HIV infection in Wisconsin are male, the percentage of cases reported among females has progressively increased over time,” the report says.

It also shows that during the 1980s, 10 percent of people reported with HIV infection were females and among persons reported between 1990 and 1999, 16 percent were females. This proportion increased to 24 percent among persons reported with HIV infection between 2000 and 2003.

According to the report: “Since the early 1990s, there has been a steady decline in the number of cases of HIV reported among males in Wisconsin. Between 2000 and 2003, an average of 282 males were reported with HIV infection representing a 53 percent decline compared to 598 cases reported in 1990, the peak year.”

Many women appear to underestimate the risk of infection. Statistics show women are most likely to contract HIV through heterosexual intercourse.

“Heterosexual contact is the most frequently reported risk exposure for females reported with HIV infection in Wisconsin,” according to the report. “Injection drug use is the second most frequent risk exposure reported. Among females reporting heterosexual contact, nearly half (48 percent) had a heterosexual partner who was an injection drug user.”

Vergeront noted the percentage of infected women has increased, but the actual number of cases is relatively steady.

“The number has plateau-ed,” he said.

The percentage of women infected has not increased as significantly as much as the percentage of men has decreased, he said.

Vergeront stressed the importance of awareness of sexually transmitted diseases for women. He said women should be aware of the risk of sexually transmitted diseases as well as HIV.

“It’s important for women to be aware and to be informed about their partners,” he said. “They should know if a partner is bisexual or an injection-drug user.”

University of Wisconsin sophomore Christie Shroyer is not surprised by the increased percentage of women with HIV.

“I think women our age don’t worry as much about HIV as they do about pregnancy,” she said. “HIV seems rare enough that a lot of women just use birth control and don’t bother using condoms.”

The UW Blue Bus University Health Services offers HIV testing, counseling and referrals to students who think they might have been exposed to HIV. The phone number is (608) 265-5600.