German Police Keep AIDS Carrier Data
West Germany’s central criminal bureau said Wednesday it had personal details on its computers of some people suspected of carrying the deadly AIDS virus.
A spokesman for the Federal Criminal Office in Wiesbaden confirmed a television report that the files had been kept since December, 1985.
NDR television said in a statement that the authorities had collected acquired immune deficiency syndrome data on about 200 people, including foreigners who were told to leave the country.
The spokesman for the criminal office said fewer than 100 people were on the lists.
Government figures show that AIDS has killed about 500 people in West Germany, with an estimated 30,000 to 100,000 thought to be carriers of the virus.
Most of the 11 state governments are taking part in the computer operation, NDR said. The files, officially known as “person-related data,” were classified under the headings “infection risk” and “beware--blood contact,” it added.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
