A group of people with HIV urged the government Wednesday to protect the rights of patients diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The group, members of which contracted the AIDS virus in the 1980s from tainted blood products, said it is concerned that public fears over SARS, which is spreading worldwide but has yet to be confirmed in Japan, will spark discrimination against sufferers.

The hemophiliacs, the next of kin of patients who have died and their supporters made a written request to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on the matter.