New Definition of AIDS to Swell County Numbers

A move by the federal Centers for Disease Control to expand its definition of AIDS will increase the number of people in Los Angeles County identified as having the disease from 3,800 to 8,800, a coalition of AIDS service organizations said Monday.

Since the county began keeping AIDS statistics in 1981, 12,900 cases have been recorded, resulting in 9,053 deaths. But the CDC announced this month that it is revising its definition, effective in January, to include AIDS-infected individuals who may not have overt symptoms, but who show evidence of a severely damaged immune system as measured by the level of certain cells in their blood.

Representatives of groups such as the AIDS Hospice Foundation predicted a push for more funding in light of the new estimates of victims. “We’re beginning to see the full-blown impact of AIDS,” Michael Weinstein, president of the organization, said at a news conference called to announce the second annual “AIDS-Thon” to raise funds through a 10-kilometer race on Nov. 3.