The Region : AIDS Increase Ominous, Official Warns

Another 84 cases of AIDS were reported in June, a sharp increase that may mean that the deadly disease is now surfacing after years of incubation in scores of victims, a health official warned. The new cares bring to 993 the total number of confirmed victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Los Angeles County, Health Servicer Director Robert B. Gates said. He also said county authorities are investigating 102 more suspected cases of the disease, which largely strikes male homosexuals. The county has averaged about 45 new cases monthly!since receiving its first reports of AIES victims in 1981. Dr. Betty Agee of the county’s Communicable Disease Division said the abrupt increase may mean that the disease--which has an incubation period of two to five years--is just now showing up in many victims.