Continued from Page 1

AIDS virus out of nearly 1.3 million,

tested thus far.

As of December, the Pentagon ,

said, 2,139 men and women among
the 1,274,072 given the test were
positive. There are 2.1 million peo-
ple currently in the military.

Koop, who will sponsor a corfer-
ence in Philadelphia next month on
pediatric AIDS, made his remarks

during a question-and-answer ses-
sion after a speech to the National

Pregs Club. a
Je
Test Determines Exposure

The test determines whether
individuals have been exposed to
the virus that causes AIDS, not
whether they will contract the

deadly disease. Someone who tests ;

| positive, however, is presumed to
[Pe infected and infectious to others.

Most of the 462 children who
have contracted AIDS in this coun-
try were infected by their mothers
during pregnancy. Of these, 29
have died.

While estimates vary, many re-
searchers believe that there is
about a 50% chance that an infect-
ed mother will transmit the virus to
her fetus.

Last year the Public Health
Service recommended that women
in high-risk groups—intravenous
drug users, prostitutes and the
sexual partners of men at risk—
voluntarily undergo the test before
becoming pregnant. But it stopped

short of recommending the test for
all women.

Koop, a vocal opponent of abor-
tion, also said that abortion should
be mentioned among all the options
given a pregnant woman who dis-
covers she is infected with the

_ virus. “It is my understanding,”
‘* Koop said, that in major obstetrical
- Clinics on the East Coast, infected
women who are less than 13 weeks

- pregnant “are being advised to
have abortions, and about 50% of
those are indeed having abortions.”

& Wednesday, March 25, 1987/Part! 13

AIDS: Koop Urges Test Before Pregnancy

The Defénse Department said
the infected military personnel

‘consisted of 1,116 of the 531,430

tested. in the Navy and Marine
Corps; 797 of 569,158 examined in
the Army; and 226 of 173,484 tested
in the Air Force. The figures
translate into rates of about 2 per
1,000 for the Navy and Marine

‘Corps, 1:4 per 1,000 for the Army

and 1.3 per 1,000 for the Air Force.
The infection rate among the
military is slightly higher than the
1.5 per 1,000 recorded among re-
cruits applying for service, the

Pentagon told United Press Inter-

national.
AIDS, or acquired immune defi-

‘ciency syndrome, destroys the

body’s immune system, eave h
powerless against certain can;

and otherwise rare infections. ,
virus can also invade the ce’
nervous system, causing severe
neurological disorders. It is chit
monly transmitted through gnal
and vaginal sexual intercoursé, |
through the sharing of unsteriliZeti!
hypodermic needles and by wofith ®
to fetus during pregnancy.

In this country, AIDS has priti#d&'13
rily afflicted homosexual and. Bi-3s
sexual men, intravenous drug u¥éfs\9
and their sexual partners. As’‘dfs

‘Monday, a total of 33,158 Amiéris

cans had contracted AIDS™bf3
whom 19,192 had died.

Koop Calls for
AIDS Test Before
Any Pregnancy

By MARLENE CIMONS,
Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—Surgeon Gen-
eral C. Everett. Koop, who has
become the Reagan Administra-
tion’s most: visible spokesman on
AIDS, recommended Tuesday that
any woman considering pregnancy
first voluntarily undergo the AIDS
antibody test. o

Koop, who opposes mandatory
testing of individuals, described his
“great concern” for babies born to
mothers who test positive for the
fatal disease. “I think no woman
should contemplate a pregnancy
without voluntarily wanting to be
tested for the AIDS virus,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon an-
nounced that more than 2,100 ac-
tive-duty military personnel have
‘ested positive for exposure to the

Please see AIDS, Page 13