a226  1404  28 Jan 88
AM-AIDS Summit, Bjt,0696
Surgeon General Seeks AIDS Tests for Entire U.S. University
By ROBERT GLASS
Associated Press Writer
    LONDON (AP) - U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said Thursday he
wanted to screen every student of a major American university this
spring to help determine the incidence of AIDS among young adults.
    Koop also proposed similar mass AIDS screening at a few high schools
in the United States, but said the government had made no decision on
either proposal.
    He disclosed the plan at a world meeting on AIDS in London and gave
details in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
    The three-day conference, attended by health ministers from 114
countries and senior public-health officials from 34 others, adopted
a declaration backing the World Health Organization's global strategy
on AIDS control and prevention.
    Proclaiming 1988 the ''Year of Communication and Cooperation About
AIDS,'' the 650 summit delegates said they ''can and will'' slow the
spread of AIDS, but offered no major new strategies.
    Koop's plan for anonymous screening of students could prove
controversial. Civil libertarians have argued that anonymous
screening is an invasion of privacy and that screening of a limited
population could be the forerunner of mandatory nationwide testing.
    The surgeon general said health officials had yet to choose a
university, but it would likely be one in a large city with a student
body of around 25,000. Plans call for the screening to take place
some time this spring, Koop said, and it would likely be part of a
one-day open-air campus ''gala'' on AIDS prevention.
    ''The goal would be to test everybody in that university in such a
way that it's done out in the open, above-board; everyone knows that
the blood specimen is not in any way tagged,'' Koop said.
    ''That would give you a pretty good idea of the prevalence (of AIDS)
in the age group in an urban setting,'' he added.
    The incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome is highest
among 20- to 24-year-olds, with male homosexuals and drug abusers
among those most at risk.
    AIDS is caused by a virus that damages the body's immune system,
leaving victims susceptible to infections and cancer. It is spread
most often through sexual contact, needles or syringes shared by drug
abusers, infected blood or blood products, and from pregnant women to
their offspring.
    Blood tests can determine the presence of AIDS antibodies,
indicating exposure to the virus, but a positive test does not
necessarily mean a person will develop symptoms.
    Koop said the screening would probably be conducted under the
auspices of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta or the
American Medical Association.
    He said anonymity would be guaranteed and those taking part would
have no way of knowing the results.
    ''To me, it's not an invasion of anyone's privacy,'' he said. ''It's
an effort to help the public health people make some predictions
about prevalence, which we sorely need.''
    Koop said he also hoped that such screening could be carried out at
a few high schools in diverse parts of the country. As examples of
the types of places he had in mind, Koop cited Philadelphia or New
York's South Bronx in the Northeast and Evansville, Ind., in the
Midwest.
 
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AP-NY-01-28-88 1653EST
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