DATA: AIDS DEATHS PLUMMET; NEW DRUGS STEM TIDE IN U.S., COUNTY.

Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer

The number of Americans and Angelenos who died from AIDS plunged by about half from 1996 through 1997, according to government statistics released Wednesday.

The disease claimed 46 percent fewer people nationwide in 1997 than it did in 1996, as powerful new drugs enabled those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus to stay healthy longer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In Los Angeles County, the number of deaths dropped 51 percent. And that trend continued during the first nine months of 1998, with 38 percent fewer deaths than during the same period last year, according to county statistics.

``It's very encouraging,'' said Peter Kerndt, director of the county's HIV epidemiology program. ``We're talking about a very significant change. . . . People who have AIDS are living longer.''

While hailing the news, AIDS researchers and activists Wednesday noted that the estimated number of new HIV infections nationwide has held steady at about 40,000 each year, meaning more and more Americans are living with the disease.

And some worried that the drop in deaths might prove temporary. There are already signs that the constantly mutating virus is building up resistance to the drug combinations, or ``cocktails,'' now used to keep it in check.

``More people are finding the drugs aren't working,'' said Van Nuys resident Dick Remley, an AIDS patient who helps run a support group called When Meds Fail.

``A lot of people think the honeymoon might be over,'' he said.

Despite those concerns, the situation in Los Angeles appears, if anything, even rosier than in the rest of the country.

While the number of new AIDS cases has not declined nationwide, it has in Los Angeles County, Kerndt said. When the epidemic peaked here in 1992, about 4,000 new AIDS cases were diagnosed, he said. In 1997, that number fell to under 2,000.

And while the number of deaths from AIDS nationwide only started to decline in 1996, the drop began here two years earlier. In 1993, 2,650 people in the county died of AIDS. Last year, the number plunged to 751.

``This is reflective of the success that many people have experienced because of the new therapies available,'' said Lee Klosinski, director of education at AIDS Project Los Angeles. ``It's an amazing return on the dollars spent on research on this disease.''

But while those therapies can greatly extend the lives of AIDS patients, they are not cures.

At first, the drug combinations worked so well for Michael Sausser of West Hollywood that tests couldn't detect the virus in his blood. But it was still there, hiding, and eventually it came back in spite of the medication.

Sausser, who with Remley runs the When Meds Fail group, has since stopped taking the medicine, which made him feel ill. For now at least he seems to be doing fine.

``It's because of the drugs that I got this far,'' said Sausser, who was first diagnosed in 1988. ``And it's because I'm not on the drugs that I can enjoy it,'' he said.

He worries about a ``second wave'' of deaths from the disease as it builds up resistance to the latest medications.

``Right now, there are a lot of people who are living with these drugs, going to work, but they're living in denial,'' he said.

AIDS IN RETREAT

Deaths from AIDS have sharply declined in Los Angeles County and nationwide since 1995 with the development of new drugs and combinations of drugs.

Numbers of Deaths 1995 1996 1997

Nationwide 43,115 31,130 16,685

California 7,085 4,630 2,058

Los Angeles County 2,358 1,559 751

SOURCE: Daily News Research

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Photo, Chart

PHOTO Michael Sausser was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 and credits a drug ``cocktail'' for extending his life.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News

CHART: AIDS IN RETREAT (see text)