Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - December 22, 1998
Ray Delgado of the Examiner Staff
The bill, announced Monday by the San Francisco Democrat, would require that any HIV infection be reported to local health departments using specifications like a person's sex, age and risk factor rather than a name in order to protect that person's confidentiality. Similar legislation was vetoed by Gov. Wilson in September after passing through the Legislature with bipartisan support.
"We'll work to accommodate concerns if (Davis) has them," Migden said. "We anticipate support. I would assume it will be a smooth process but I don't want to pre-commit the governor."
Davis spokesman Michael Bustamante said the new governor's office wouldn't comment on pending legislation that hasn't been reviewed but that Migden's bill would be thoroughly considered if it passes through the Legislature.
The bill would comply with recently announced guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that urged states not only to report AIDS cases but HIV cases as well. California already has a reporting system for AIDS cases but not HIV.
Although it is unknown how many people in California are infected with HIV, nearly 37,000 people throughout the state are known to have AIDS, second only to New York.
Migden said a registry system would be important to provide enhanced HIV treatment but that a person's privacy should be protected. Instead, she said, that person would be given a special number and be classified on the registry based on sex, race, age, sexual orientation and risk factors for infection like needle use or unprotected sex.
Maryland, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia and Hawaii have either begun reporting cases by similar codes or are developing such a system.
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