Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (SF) - THURSDAY October 27, 1988 Edition: THREE STAR Section: NEWS Page: A32 Word Count: 516
Charles Petit, Chronicle Science Writer
"It could very well lead to faster spread of AIDS," said Dr. Warren Winkelstein, former head of the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley.
The proposition would require doctors to report to public health authorities the names of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS and to try to find all their previous sexual partners.
Winkelstein said it "would be extremely disastrous for research" because it would become difficult to find volunteers infected with the virus willing to take part in studies.
A 72-page report blasting the initiative was released yesterday by the deans and top researchers at the schools of public health at UC Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego State University and Loma Linda University.
They joined virtually every leading public health authority and medical organization in the state in urging defeat of the measure, sponsored by Representative William Dannemeyer, R-Orange County, and backed by tax crusader Paul Gann, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion.
It appears ahead in recent public opinion polls but many voters have not yet made up their minds.
WHAT REPORT SAYS
The report cited earlier estimates that the cost of enforcing the measure, including tracing previous sex partners of those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, could reach many hundreds of millions of dollars.
It details arguments made by other opponents of the proposition, including fear that it would drive people away from being tested for HIV out of fear of losing jobs or health insurance, and that it would cripple voluntary counseling programs for those infected with the deadly virus.
Much of the report was written by staff members at the UC Berkeley public health school, including Dr. Joyce C. Lashof, the dean, and faculty and research staff members, including Winkelstein, Dr. Thomas Rundall, Charlotte Kent, Kathryn Phillips, Daniel Shostak and Nancy Krieger.
'WHO ARE THEY KIDDING?'
Bret Barbe, an aide to Dannemeyer, dismissed yesterday's report. "Who are they kidding? Do they really believe that Paul Gann, the world's foremost taxpayer advocate, and one of the most fiscally conservative members of the Congress, would do anything that would threaten the state's solvency?"
Barbe also said that names of infected people reported to public health officials could be kept secret from employers or other possible sources of discrimination. The measure, he said, "puts AIDS into the same arena as other diseases. Why should we treat hepatitis or gonorrhea or syphilis one way but not AIDS? We just want to break the link in transmission by finding people who might pass it on."
Winkelstein, however, said that the measure would classify AIDS as a "communicable and infectious disease." Although true in a strict medical sense, he said, the legal meaning refers to diseases that are spread by contact or bodily exhalations such as coughing or sneezing. All evidence indicates that AIDS is spread only by sexual intercourse, exchange of infected blood or blood products, or from mother to child during birth.
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