The New York Times

September 10, 1997

Journal Now Urges Reporting of H. I.V.

BOSTON, Sept. 10 (AP) - The New England Journal of Medicine is urging mandatory reporting of H.I.V. infections to state health departments to increase the chances that people will get early treatment.

More than half the states now require that the names of infected people be reported to confidential registries. But New York and California, the two with the most cases of H.I.V.,

do not require this.

In the journal issue to be published on Thursday, Dr. Robert Steinbrook, a deputy editor, said

in an editorial that infections of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, should be a reportable disease at the Federal level, just like tuberculosis and sexually transmitted illnesses like syphilis.

The editorial noted that this would allow health agencies to track down partners of infected people. Protease inhibitors and other AIDS drugs, used together, slow the progression of an infection to full-blown AIDS. Many doctors believe patients should start treatment as soon as possible after infection to improve their chances of survival.