Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle have found exactly how human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) enters into women's bodies during sex. The study also identified HIV's first target cells in vagina.

"The majority of HIV-1 infected individuals worldwide are women who acquire HIV infection following sexual contact. Blocking HIV transmission and local spread in the female lower genital tract is key to prevent infection and ultimately to ease the pandemic," described study's authors Dr. Florian Hladik and Dr. M. Juliana McElrath.

The study's authors said, "Our findings shed light on the very earliest steps of mucosal HIV infection... and may guide the design of effective strategies to block local transmission and prevent HIV-1 spread."

The findings of the study are reported in the February issue of Immunity.