Nearly 60% of Aids victims in Africa are women and a team of Norwegian infectious disease spec ialists think they may have the explanation. [s]The New York Times[/s] reports that they argue African women are more vulnerable to HIV because of a chronic, undiagnosed parasitic disease: g enital schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia and snail fever, caused by parasitic worms picked up in infested river water. Some prominent AIDSexperts, including SA Prof Salim Karim, doubt the theory, pointing out, for example, that urban women raised far from infested water also die of AIDS. The [b]Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[/b], the [b]UN[/b], the [b]National Institutes of Health[/b], and the Danish and Norwegian governments have all given grant support to the research.
[link url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/health/a-simple-theory-and-a-proposal-on-hiv-in-africa.html?emc=edit_th_20140511&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=42505380&_r=0]Full report in The New York Times[/link]