HIV: what's different for women?

The scope of the problem: AIDS is now the sixth leading cause of death among reproductive-age women in the United States and the primary cause of death in young women in major cities. Its incidence is rising more rapidly among women than any other group. The 1987 case definition may have undercounted women with AIDS, which has contributed to underrecognition of the problem. So have the failure of physicians to think of HIV as a woman's problem and underestimation of the importance of heterosexual sex in trasmitting the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]