The latest US research has identified that sexual intercourse can transmit the AIDS virus to women more easily than first thought.

The results of this study appear to contradict previous thinking about the vaginal tract being a barrier against HIV. Researchers found that during sexual intercourse the virus can invade the vaginal wall and go on to infect the immune system.

Science still only has a vague idea of how HIV is transmitted sexually but this new study develops a new understanding of how the virus invades the vaginal tract.

Viral particles were found to pass through skin cells and target immune cells within four hours during tests that involved human tissue and tissue from monkeys.

Previous thinking was that the virus could only enter the vaginal tract through an injury or infection such as sores caused by herpes. This latest research suggests that the virus is able to pass through after sexual intercourse.

Contracting HIV and the possibility of developing AIDS is a devastating problem. Alternative medicine and complementary therapy can help in a number of ways.

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