AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a fatal disease that destroys the immune system. More than four out of five AIDS cases in the United States so far have been homosexual or bisexual men or drug users. Not all those who are infected with the AIDS virus, now【B1】one and a half million Americans, will【B2】the disease, but scientists assume that【B3】of the virus can spread it to others through sexual【B4】or exchange of blood or other bodily fluids. 【B5】about the spread of the disease has brought demands for testing to【B6】evidence of infection. But proposals for testing have been【B7】with a storm of questions and counterproposals from health officials, advocates of civil rights, and【B8】right activists. Should testing of people at special risk be【B9】or mandatory(强制性的)? How wide should testing be? What uses will be【B10】of the results? If the secret is disclosed, is there a danger【B11】people discovered be carriers will lose their jobs, housing, and access【B12】public places? At a meeting in February 1987, participants in a【B13】sponsored conference on the control of AIDS【B14】that testing should be voluntary and accompanied by safeguards to protect the【B15】of those who are tested. The consensus, 【B16】, was ruined by disagreements about definition of terms. One participant pointed【B17】that 'mandatory', 'routine',' standard', 'required' and' confidential' were being used in different ways. As AIDS【B18】more victims—by 1991 health officials estimate that more than 50,000 Americans will die【B19】each year—public anxiety will mount and the demand for【B20】testing and control may grow. State Laws written in the 1920s and 1930s to limit the spread of sexually transmitted diseases may not be adequate to protect against AIDS. But it remains unclear whether new laws requiring mandatory testing would produce sufficient health benefits to justify possible violations of civil rights. 【B1】