An 'alarming quandary': The birth control that doubles HIV risk

A new study warns that women taking a popular injectible contraceptive may be twice as likely to contract or transmit HIV

A Malawian midwife injects a mother with the contraceptive Depo-provera at a family planning clinic: This hormone-based contraceptive may actually be spreading the HIV virus.
(Image credit: Gideon Mendel/ActionAid/Corbis)

A popular contraceptive may double the risk of HIV infection in women, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The contraceptive shot, administered every three months, is used by 12 million women in Eastern and Southern Africa — one of the most common forms of birth control in the region. More than 1 million American women use the contraceptive, too. (One brand name in the U.S. is Pfizer Inc.'s Depo Provera.) Here's what you should know:

How was this study conducted?

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