
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993                   TAG: 9306110111
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BERLIN                                LENGTH: Medium

SURGEON GENERAL'S REPORT FOCUSES ON AIDS, WOMEN

U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello released an AIDS report Thursday that includes a new focus on the dangers AIDS poses for women and, for the first time, explicit instructions on using condoms.

The report, aimed at educating Americans about AIDS risks and prevention methods, documents a rise in the heterosexual spread of AIDS in the United States. It notes that in 1992, 39 percent of reported AIDS cases in women were attributable to heterosexual contact, an increase of 42 percent since 1990.

It warns women that AIDS can be passed to infants through breast milk, and advises infected women to use infant formula. It provides precise directions on how to wash needles and syringes to avoid spreading AIDS through shared needles.

"It's done in a way that's non-judgmental, just factual," Novello said in an interview. Work on the Surgeon General's Report on AIDS began in 1991, but it languished under the administration of former President Bush, she said.

The Clinton administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala made the report a high priority, Novello said.

"Secretary Shalala said, `I understand there is an AIDS report. Where is it? Let's get it out,' " Novello said. The 26-page report was released at a news conference at the Ninth International Conference on AIDS.

It will be distributed to the American public through state and public health agencies and community groups.

Its release comes at a time when the Clinton administration is under fire from AIDS activists for failing to honor a campaign promise to appoint an AIDS "czar" to oversee federal AIDS research and public health programs.

The report includes scientific information and recommendations to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Novello said the report emphasizes that spermicides and other forms of birth control do not protect against AIDS.

"A latex condom, when used correctly and consistently, offers the best protection against HIV," the report says. Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes AIDS.

The report is available through the Public Health Service AIDS hot at 1-800-342-AIDS.

by CNB