Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Wednesday, September 10, 1997; 5:06 p.m. EDT
More than half of all states now require that the names of infected people be reported to confidential registries. However, New York and California, the two with the most cases by far, do not require this.
Early in the epidemic, the need to keep AIDS infections private was often considered to be more important than any public health benefits of turning names over to health agencies.
However, opinion has shifted, and mandatory reporting has grown less controversial in recent years, especially with the advent of treatments for people who are infected but not yet sick.
In Thursday's issue of the journal, Dr. Robert Steinbrook, a deputy editor, said in an editorial that infection with the AIDS virus should be a reportable disease at the federal level, just like tuberculosis and many sexually transmitted illnesses, such as syphilis and gonorrhea.
The editorial noted that this would allow health agencies to track down partners of infected people so they could be warned of their risk and get counseling and treatment.
Protease inhibitors and other AIDS drugs, used together, dramatically slow the progression of an infection to full-blown AIDS. Many doctors believe patients should start treatment as soon as possible after infection to improve their chances of survival.
The same issue of the journal published a study, directed by Dr. Scott M. Hammer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, showing that AIDS patients getting a combination of the protease inhibitor indinavir, plus the drugs AZT and lamivudine, had half the death rate of those getting two drugs when followed for nine months.
That study received wide attention after the results were released by the National Institutes of Health, its sponsor, in February.
States with laws requiring HIV reporting by name are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Okalahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Connecticut, Oregon and Texas require that only HIV-infected children be reported by name.
Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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