Helen Mathews Smith

Helen Mathews Smith is the former editor of MD magazine and has written numerous articles on AIDS. In the following viewpoint, Smith maintains that the best way to control any epidemic is through routine testing, tracking the disease, and warning those at risk. However, she notes, in order to safeguard individuals’ privacy rights, the United States has not required routine mandatory testing for AIDS. She asserts that the current methods of tracking AIDS—voluntary testing and counseling—have not controlled the spread of the disease. The need to control the AIDS epidemic and save lives must take precedence over the right to privacy, Smith contends.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Who is experiencing the sharpest rate of increase in the number of AIDS cases, according...