A NEW DEFINITION FOR AIDS SURVEILLANCE

In January 1993, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded the surveillance definition for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). For adults and adolescents with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, four new criteria have been added to the previous definition: a measure of immunosuppression (a CD4+ T-lymphocyte count <200/muL or CD4+ percentage <14) and three clinical conditions (pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent pneumonia, and invasive cervical cancer). The expanded surveillance definition more accurately represents persons with severe HIV-related immunosuppression and morbidity and should facilitate reporting by physicians. Counseling of individual patients should continue to focus on their clinical and immunologic status rather than on surveillance criteria.