NATION IN BRIEF : GEORGIA : AIDS Testing 97.8% Accurate, Study Says

Tests to keep the nation’s blood supply free of the deadly AIDS virus are at least 97.8% accurate, government health officials at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said. A 4-year-old study of the effectiveness of the two AIDS tests used most commonly to screen blood donors has confirmed what smaller previous studies had shown. “I think the take-home message is that testing for (the AIDS virus) is excellent,” said Russell Gerber, the CDC doctor who authored the study. “People should feel really confident about their test results whether negative or positive.”