Update: investigations of patients who have been treated by HIV-infected health-care workers.
Investigation of the patients of a Florida dentist with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) concluded that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was transmitted to five (0.5%) of approximately 1100 patients who were evaluated (1-3). Although the precise events resulting in transmission of HIV to these patients are not known, the findings of the investigation support direct dentist-to-patient transmission, rather than a patient-to-patient route. This report summarizes information from other published studies of patients who were treated by HIV-infected health-care workers (HCWs) (4-10), as well as from completed and ongoing unpublished investigations that have been reported to CDC.
D003815:Dentists; D013502:General Surgery; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D010361:Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology