Acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a review of science, health policy, and law.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) poses the greatest threat to public health of any communicable disease in contemporary times. Efforts to reduce the spread of this disease have become the United States' top priority on the health scene. The following article examines the current medical data on the etiology, clinical manifestations, testing, and transmission of AIDS as a preliminary exploration of the full range of public policy questions posed by the alarming spread of this disease.