Only a very few people have become infected with the AIDS-causing virus since testing for HIV infection started in 1985.
View Comments
Federal health officials reported Monday that between 1986 and 1991, the number of transfusion-related AIDS cases may have been as low as five per year.A total of 4,619 people, representing two percent of all U.S. AIDS cases, are believed to have become infected through the blood supply. The rate of transfusion-related AIDS cases went steadily up from 1978 to 1984, then dropped sharply in 1985, when testing began, said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.