(File)

ATLANTA (August 9, 2012)--U.S. health officials are telling doctors they should consider an AIDS prevention pill for women and heterosexual men at high risk for getting the virus.

The government previously advised doctors to give the once-a-day pill Truvada only to high-risk gay and bisexual men, but there are an estimated 140,000 heterosexual couples in which one person is infected with HIV.

Dr. Dawn Smith of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that's not a population that should be ignored.

Truvada is also used to treat people already infected with HIV.

The new CDC advice was issued Thursday.