Officials Fear Hemophiliac Will Spread Disease : School in Indiana Bars Boy With AIDS

A 13-year-old boy who contracted AIDS during treatment for hemophilia has been barred from attending school for fear he may pose a threat to other students, officials said today.

School Superintendent James Smith said that Ryan White, a seventh-grader at Western Middle School, will have to receive instruction at his home, provided that teachers can be found who will volunteer for the duty.

“With all the things we do and don’t know about AIDS, I just decided not to do it,” Smith said.

However, officials of the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said today that there is no scientific evidence that AIDS “can be transmitted by casual contact.”

In an an interview that appeared in today’s Indianapolis Star, the boy said: “I’m pretty upset about it. I’ll miss my friends mostly.”

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is most likely to strike homosexuals, abusers of injectable drugs and hemophiliacs. It is apparently spread exclusively by sexual contact, contaminated needles and blood products and transfusions.

Smith said his decision barring White was supported by county health officials who had said the school would have to provide a private restroom for the boy and sponges, buckets and rubber gloves in each classroom he attended.

However, the state Health Department issued a report Tuesday saying children with AIDS who are well enough should be allowed to attend school.

In Atlanta, CDC spokeswoman Betty Hooper said there are no current guidelines for dealing with pediatric AIDS victims, those 13 and under.

“It’s an emerging problem,” she said. “We know of 148 cases of pediatric AIDS. We are beginning to get cases in children around the country.”