AIDS begins as an illness called HTLV-III infection. HTLV-III infection can exist with neither signs nor symptoms of any other type of illness. At the other end of the continuum, AIDS occurs when a severe HTLV-III infection exists. HTLV-III infections progress from HTLV-III with enlarged nymph nodes to HTLV-III with ARC or AIDS Related Complex. Individuals suffering from various degrees of the HTLV-III disease have, because of their illnesses, different legal problems. When a person's blood is tested and the HTLV-III infection is found, the blood test is not diagnostic for AIDS. AIDS is a clinical and not a laboratory diagnosis. Therefore, individuals who have positive HTLV-III blood tests should not be treated in the same manner as those with AIDS. These distinctions are important when discussing the applicability of State laws and local ordinances to the medical records of patients suffering from one or more components of AIDS infection. California local ordinances banning discrimination against AIDS patients are discussed. Four California laws dealing with AIDS blood tests, confidentiality of patient blood test results, the findings of AIDS research, and the confidentiality of research programs are also discussed. 4 footnotes.