The State - News from July 4, 1986

A record percentage of San Francisco victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome died of the disease in the first half of 1986, and a record number of new AIDS cases were reported last month, according to city Public Health Director David Werdegar. He said that of 520 new cases reported in San Francisco this year, 67% of the victims died from the illness, which attacks the body’s immune system. He said last year’s figure for the same period was 58%. He said 108 new San Francisco AIDS cases were reported in June. “At this stage of the AIDS epidemic, five years out, we are seeing a more severe form of the disease,” Werdegar said. “We have individuals who are sicker, a death rate that is rising, and we’re going to be seeing even greater increases in the numbers of new cases.”