AIDS Reporting

Re “A Balance for AIDS Reporting,” editorial, Aug. 31: To properly analyze the growing and changing AIDS epidemic, epidemiologists need accurate data through name-based reporting of HIV infections. This epidemiological data will better characterize and identify risk groups and the behavior of the epidemic so that effective barriers to transmission can be established. In a world where a disease such as AIDS is killing millions of people, simple name-based reporting of victims is a fundamental must. Why, then, are we still being bogged down by the simple task of accumulating accurate basic data in a 17-year-old epidemic?

If the fear of being stigmatized and discriminated against is preventing individuals from determining whether they have a fatal infectious disease, new laws need to be created to allay these fears. National legislation can and must ensure that individuals and populations not be discriminated against because of HIV sero-status.

JAMES L. CHEN

Berkeley