Proposals to test prostitutes rest on the erroneous belief that female prostitutes are spreading HIV into the general population. In fact, the low incidence of heterosexual transmission during vaginal intercourse and the nature of sexual encounters with prostitutes reduces the risk of transmission by female prostitutes. In addition, the absence of medical support for compulsory testing of prostitutes makes it unlikely that such testing programs would survive legal challenges. Furthermore, targeting prostitutes for forced testing will be ineffective as a prevention strategy. Finally, the results of past efforts to control sexually transmitted diseases show the limits of approaches focusing on prostitutes. 12 references.