Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - April 1, 1986
Statistics compiled from the new screening program show the highest incidence rates for positive tests are occurring among recruits from states along the West Coast and the East Coast from New York southward. The lowest rates are being reported for recruits from New England and the Mountain and upper Middle Western states.
The statistics are part of the first formal quarterly review of the program to test new recruits for antibodies to the virus believed to cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a program initiated last October. The results were provided to The Associated Press on condition that the source not be identified.
Positive Test Results
The report said that 12 women and 198 men among 138,000 individuals screened from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31 were confirmed as having the AIDS antibody in their blood. That total of 210 "positives" translates to roughly 1.5 cases per 1,000 individuals screened.
That is higher than the rate being reported by civilian blood agencies, but Pentagon officials stressed that it was impossible to meaningfully compare the two groups because of such differences as average age.
AIDS is a fatal disease that destroys the body's ability to resist infection. The disease, which is spread by intimate sexual contact and transfers of blood, has mainly afflicted homosexuals, intravenous drug users and individuals who received tainted blood transfusions.
The antibody test employed by the Pentagon indicates whether a person has been infected with the virus believed to cause AIDS. Only a minority of infected individuals have developed the fatal disease, but scientists believe that most can potentially spread the virus to others through sexual contact or sharing of intravenous needles.
Quarterly Incidence Rates
Within the group of military recruits, the quarterly incidence rate for men was 1.7 per 1,000, nearly triple the rate of 0.6 per 1,000 for women.
The rate changed dramatically as the age of the recruit rose. For those 17 to 20 years old the Pentagon found a rate of 0.6 per 1,000. For those 21 to 25 the rate rose to 2.5 per 1,000. And for those 26 and older it moved to 4.6 per 1,000.
"The researchers speculate those differences can be attributed to the fact that the older the recruit, the more sexual exposure he or she has had," one source said. "But that's just a hypothesis and no one knows for sure."
The Pentagon decided last summer to require blood-screening of all recruits. That process began in October. Then, on Oct. 24, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger concluded that all active-duty and reserve personnel should be given the AIDS blood test.
The services have begun testing their active-duty personnel, but early results from those tests have not been released.
Under Mr. Weinberger's directives, recruits who test positively are automatically denied entry into the military. Active-duty personnel who test positively are to be retained in the service unless evidence of the disease is found.
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