All foreign professional boxers who fight in...

All foreign professional boxers who fight in Britain will be screened for AIDS, and British boxers may also soon have to undergo tests for the disease.

Because boxing is a close-contact sport in which blood is frequently spilled, the British Boxing Board of Control said it wants to make boxers aware of the dangers of AIDS and allay any fears that the sport could become a breeding ground for the disease.

The board of control will issue letters about AIDS to every professional boxer and manager in Britain. So far, there have been 599 reported cases of AIDS in Britain. The number of deaths up to the end of November was 296.