Abstract

Despite advancements in medical science, the treatment of AIDS remains a public health problem, and the number of cases has been rising steadily in recent years. Although there is no consensus, statistics collected by the Universities of Medical Sciences and Health Services indicate that, as of 2012, a total of 27 041 people with HIV/AIDS had been identified in Iran, 89.3% of whom were men and 10.7% were women. In 2009, 19 774 people had been recognized.1 Statistics show that the third wave of AIDS continues until women are its silent victims. Addicts and their wives have also been afflicted as have their children, and this completes the cycle of disaster. The percentage of women who have contracted HIV infection from sexual relations has risen to 60%.2 Data shows that transmission through the sharing of injecting needles is 56%.3 Growth in the number of patients involved, the increasing number of drug users, the sharing of needles, increased sexual contact, the rise in the age of marriage, and increases in the divorce rate have caused the rate of sexually transmitted infections to rise. Evidence offers that in addition to the development of patients, the risk of transmission is driven by unprotected sexual contact. Programs to control and prevent HIV/AIDS and educate the public, with a special emphasis on prevention, are top priority.

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