HIV screening for newborns still needed in most states.

The biggest bargain in healthcare would be to add HIV testing to state board of health newborn screening panels. No baby carrying its mother's HIV antibodies should be sent home to nurse its mother, thereby acquiring AIDS from breast milk unnecessarily. The cost of adding the HIV test to the newborn screening panel is so nominal that catching one or two babies a year and preventing that child from acquiring AIDS from its mother's milk could pay for the entire program in some states.

Employers who are becoming increasingly concerned about healthcare costs would do well to help promote routine screening of all newborns to avoid the tragedy of an employee with an AIDS child.

New York State has completed more than a year of very successful screening of all newborns. Anyone interested in helping their own state institute a screening program can get all the details on the program from the office of the bill's sponsor, New York Councilwoman Nettie Mayersohn. Her address is: Honorable Nettie Mayersohn, 65-01 Fresh Meadow Lane, Flushing, NY 11366; telephone [phone].

Dr. Martin Kleiman, Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics and director of the pediatric infectious disease department at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, sees almost all of Indiana's AIDS children. He helped work on a baby AIDS bill for Indiana and very much urges the public to provide this safety net for babies. A recent report from Africa has shown that breast feeding is the most common method of transmitting the AIDS virus from mother to child. For more information about newborn screening panels, please read the article "In Pursuit of the Baby AIDS Bill" in the May/June '98 Saturday Evening Post.

Fortunately, two states, Tennessee and Arkansas, have passed regulations making it routine for all pregnant women to be tested for HIV. This is especially important, since AZT and other drugs, when given early, can prevent the fetus from acquiring HIV. Early intervention during pregnancy is better. However, until it is possible for state legislatures to enact legislation requiring routine testing of pregnant mothers, the safety net with babies is urgently needed.

Employers can get information from Dr. Tom Coburn, U.S. House Representative from Oklahoma, on how to help their state legislatures enact these laws for their pregnant employees. Dr. Coburn's address is: The Canon Building, 429 Canon, Washington, DC 20515.