Subject: U. S. AIDS-Infection Study Sees Little Risk to Patients
Date: Published: 5/15/92 (34 lines)
Source: Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc.

    U. S. AIDS-Infection Study
    Sees Little Risk to Patients

    ATLANTA -- The Centers for Disease Control said that after
 studying tests conducted on nearly 16,000 patients, it has
 been unable to find any new evidence of transmission of the
 AIDS virus by HIV-infected health care workers.
    The risk of such infection has received considerable
 attention in the past two years following of a report that a
 Florida dentist transmitted the virus that causes acquired
 immune deficiency syndrome to five of his patients.  One of
 them, the late Kimberly Bergalis, became a crusader for laws
 requiring health-care workers be tested for the virus.
    In an update on its inquiry, the CDC said it had studied
 HIV test results for 15,795 patients who had been treated by
 a total of 32 infected health-care workers.
    Among the patients, the CDC identified 84 individuals who
 are infected with HIV.  Follow-up investigations have been
 completed with 47 of the patients, while studies are still in
 progress on the remaining 37.  Thus far, the inquiry has
 failed to turn up any evidence that the patients received the
 virus from a health-care worker, the CDC said.
    Outside of the Florida cases, "there's no documented case
 of transmission" of the disease from health-care worker to
 patient, said Dr. James W. Curran, who supervises the HIV and
 AIDS programs at the CDC. 

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