The New York Times - June 15, 1983
William E. Schmidt, Special To The New York Times

But the Secretary, Margaret M. Heckler, also told a meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors here that fear that the disease was spreading among the general population was unfounded and unsubstantiated.

"For the overwhelming majority of Americans, there appears to be little or no risk of falling victim to this disease, in particular, through normal, daily social contacts," Mrs. Heckler said. Added U.S. Funds to Be Sought

The mayors' conference is expected to pass a resolution Wednesday comparing the disease to a "medieval plague" and asking for more Federal funds not only to discover its cause and cure but also to help assure medical, hospital and hospice care for victims.

In direct contrast to what Mrs. Heckler said, the resolution warns that the syndrome "now increasingly afflicts the general population."

Later, in response to questions, Mrs. Heckler said the disease was a plague only for those already "at high risk." "It is not a plague that will threaten the lives of all Americans," she said. "The panic that has developed in the American public is totally unwarranted."

More than 1,500 people have the disease, many of them homosexuals in the nation's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mrs. Heckler said four or five new cases were reported each day and that the number of victims might double every six months. 595 Have Been Victims

The disease, which kills 80 percent of its victims within two years of diagnosis, has so far been blamed for 595 deaths. It destroys the body's immune defense system, leaving the victim vulnerable to a multitude of diseases, including a rare malignancy known as Kaposi's Sarcoma and pneumocystitis, an invidious form of pneumonia.

Mrs. Heckler said the Department of Health and Human Services would spend $26.5 million on research on the disease this year. That includes $14.5 million already budgeted, plus a transfer of $12 million from other health areas.

President Reagan recently asked Congress to grant Mrs. Heckler the authority to transfer the funds. In addition, she said the National Institutes of Health would spend $10 million for direct research on the disease.

Some delegates to the conference said they were pleased with what Mrs. Heckler had to say. Mayor Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco, chairman of an 11-city study group on the disease, said Mrs. Heckler's remarks proved that she "is fully committed to putting all available resources" behind the fight to conquer AIDS.

Dr. Mervyn Silverman, health director of San Francisco, said San Francisco and other cities would need additional Federal funds to help deal with the cost of treating victims of the disease. He estimated that San Francisco had already spent $4 million, or 5 percent of its annual health budget, on care, counseling and patient services for AIDS victims.

In her talk, Mrs. Heckler emphasized that of the more than 1,500 cases reported so far in 35 states and the District of Columbia, 94 percent involved members of what she called high-risk groups.

These include homosexual or bisexual males with multiple sex partners; intravenous drug abusers; recent entrants to this country from Haiti and people with hemophilia.

She said research indicated that AIDS was spread only through sexual contact, the sharing of needles by drug abusers or contaminated blood products.

She said it was not spread, like the flu, through casual contacts with victims of the disease. Mrs. Heckler said no health personnel who have dealt with the disease have contracted it.

To help improve public understanding of the disease, Mrs. Heckler said she had ordered the establishment of an "AIDS Information Hotline." The toll-free number, 800-342-AIDS, will be in operation July 1.

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