Aides Urge Anonymous Aids Trace Opponents Argue That People Would Put Off Having A Test

Advisers to Gov. Gary Locke recommended Tuesday that the state should keep track of people who test positive for the AIDS virus without using their names.

Instead, they recommended a system using some type of unique identifier code for each person who tests positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Members of an advisory council said this alternative would allow health officials to collect accurate data without threatening people’s rights to privacy and confidentiality.

The vote followed months of sometimes contentious public hearings about whether health officials should change their methods of fighting the disease.

Currently, the state tracks AIDS patients by name but does not require people who test positive for HIV to provide their names.

Improvements in AIDS-resistant drugs and the first drop in new AIDS cases, however, have led many health experts to call for a name-based system to track everyone who tests positive for HIV.

Advocates said it would present a better picture of the epidemic and thus would allow health officials to reach more people who may have been infected with HIV.

Opponents argued that fewer people would seek testing and treatment for the virus unless their anonymity were guaranteed.

The Governor’s Advisory Council on HIV-AIDS met at a hotel in SeaTac on Tuesday. Within a few days they plan to present two things to Locke: A report that includes information on both name-based and identifier systems, and a letter that includes the council’s preference.

The council voted 14-4 in favor of a system that does not use people’s names. One member did not vote.

Locke has not yet indicated which system he wants state health officials to pursue, policy adviser Duane Thurman said.

“The spirit of the meeting this morning emphasizes that there’s not one right answer,” Thurman said. “It’s a very difficult issue.”

State Health Secretary Bruce Miyahara urged the council to recommend an AIDS-tracking system that includes names. While acknowledging security concerns, he said health experts should be allowed to reevaluate their strategies to keep up with the epidemic.

“It’s part of the maturing of this disease,” he said. “At this point in time, we feel names reporting is a legitimate issue to put on the table.”

As public policy director of the Northwest AIDS Foundation, Steve Johnson helped lead the fight for an alternative to a system that uses names.

Most people who testified at public hearings said they wouldn’t get tested for HIV if they knew their names would be used, he said.

“It’s time to explore the major components of how a unique-identifier system would be established,” Johnson said.