Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, June 23, 1989
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
To trace trends in the AIDS epidemic, the state took blood samples from all babies born in California in July last year as part of a study that has two months more to go. The numbers appear to show that one in every 610 Bay Area women who gave birth during the sample period was infected with the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome, according to Dr. Kenneth Kizer, the state's health director. This compares with a rate of one infection in every 1,201 mothers in Los Angeles - essentially the same as the statewide infection rate, Kizer said.
The numbers of infected mothers are extremely small, however, and Dr. George Lemp, an epidemiologist in the San Francisco Department of Health's AIDS office, analyzed their statistical significance and said that because the study is still incomplete it is impossible to tell whether the differences are due solely to chance.
In the Bay Area, 11 women out of 6,708 who gave birth during the study period were found to be infected by HIV, the human immune deficiency virus, while in Los Angeles 12 women were found to be infected out of 14,417 who gave birth. The state report also attempted to learn the infection rate among various ethnic groups, but there the numbers were even smaller and determining their significance was even more difficult.
The test for evidence of infection examined blood samples from the newborn babies because during the first year or so after birth babies carry the antibodies they acquire from their mothers during fetal life. Thus, if they show antibodies to the AIDS virus it indicates that their mothers have been infected.
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