Bleach and AIDS

The National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) endorsement of experimental bleach-distribution programs comes at a critical moment as Congress again weighs the issue. The commission’s recommendation is a wise one coming from some of the nation’s most experienced public health figures.

Household bleach kills the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. It has been distributed in test projects to intravenous drug users as a means of sterilizing the needles they share, and thus as a way to prevent transmission of HIV. Preliminary results are encouraging. And the programs have served also as a means of opening contact with the drug users to encourage their participation in addiction treatment programs. Dr. David Rogers, vice chairman of the National Commission, summed up the urgency of the matter when he said: “In the United States, the conquest of AIDS will be determined by how effectively we can contain the spread of HIV among drug users.”

But Congress, which already has voted to bar the use of federal funds in needle-exchange programs for drug users, voted this year to bar the distribution of bleach. However, the legislation was vetoed by President Bush, who opposed abortion funding included in the bill. Now the bill is being rewritten, providing an opportunity to heed the advice of the commission on bleach.

The commission endorsement of “the continuation of research and demonstration projects involving the distribution of bleach to reduce the spread of HIV” should also encourage a review by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors of its earlier rejection of just such a project. The County AIDS Commission had recommended that outreach workers in the drug community include bleach and condoms with educational materials as they seek to control the pandemic and to bring drug users into treatment programs. So has the California AIDS Leadership Committee, in its authoritative strategic plan for the state.