Sex and race

ABSTRACT

This chapter looks mainly at the reasons for the rapid spread of AIDS in Africa; it examines the roles of other sexually transmitted diseases. "promiscuity", prostitutes, and the possibility that susceptibility to HIV might be genetically linked. The AIDS virus is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse. There are two key scientific factors which allow us to understand its spread the likelihood that an infected person will transmit the virus tp a partner during sexual intercourse, and the frequency with which individuals acquire new sexual partners. Slowing down the spread of the virus requires both a reduction in the likelihood of its transmission during any single act of sexual intercourse, and a reduction in the rate at which new sexual partners are acquired (AU)