Science / Medicine : AIDS Risks Underscored

A study of more than 2,000 adults treated in the emergency room of Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital has found that about 5% tested positive for infection with the AIDS virus, underscoring the need for emergency workers to take precautions.

The high rates of infection found in the study, especially among young blacks, reflect the fact that the hospital’s emergency room serves an inner-city population with a high frequency of drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and other risk factors for the infection.

Further studies are needed to determine if infection rates in the surrounding community are comparable, said Dr. Gabor D. Kelen, whose study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The highest infection rate, 11.4%, was found in black men aged 30 to 34. Overall infection rates were 6% for blacks and 2.6% for whites. In all, 2,302 patients were tested for infection with HIV. Of them, 119, or 5.2%, tested positive.