Possible health care professional-to-patient HIV transmission: dentists' reactions to a Centers for Disease Control report

Article Abstract:

During the summer of 1990 the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cited a case of possible transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from a dentist to a patient during the extraction of two molars, in spite of the fact that all procedures for infection control seemed to have been followed. Up until that time, health authorities had claimed that transmission of the virus from a health care professional to a patient was very unlikely. The news was quickly spread by major newspapers, provoking the American Dental Association (ADA) to respond that the release of information about the case was not in the best interest of the public. The privacy and trust between health care professionals and patients, infection control procedures, and the reputed ''delicate'' nature of the virus were all called into question by this development. Because many dentists had refused to believe an earlier story of patient-to-dentist transmission, their response to the CDC report was surveyed in a questionnaire mailed to 300 dentists. A total of 168 dentists responded. Of these, 44 percent said that dentist-to-patient transmission was ''not at all likely,'' and only 12 percent thought that the CDC report presented conclusive evidence. The majority did not believe that the HIV infection resulted from dental care, in spite of the CDC's careful identification of the DNA patterns of the virus found in both dentist and patient. However, while almost half believed that transmission was unlikely, a greater number indicated that HIV-infected dentists should stop treating patients. When two more patients of this same dentist were found to be infected, the ADA changed its stance and recommended that all HIV-infected dentists should inform their patients of their infection or cease performing invasive procedures. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

HIV infection, Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Dentists, American Dental Association, Dental care, Communicable diseases, Oral hygiene

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Administration of zidovudine during late pregnancy and delivery to prevent perinatal HIV transmission - Thailand, 1996-1998

Article Abstract:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on a clinical trial in Thailand to evaluate a short course of zidovudine during pregnancy in HIV-infected women to prevent transmission of the disease to their infants. Researchers treated 393 women with either zidovudine or placebo from 36 weeks gestation through the end of labor, and tested their infants for HIV at 6 months of age. The rate of HIV transmission was 9.2% for those taking zidovudine, and 18.6% in the women taking placebo. A similar trial in Africa will determine the effect of breastfeeding on HIV transmission to infants.

Evaluation, Maternal-fetal exchange, Pregnancy, Zidovudine, HIV infection in pregnancy

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Population-Based Survey for Drug Resistance of Tuberculosis--Mexico, 1997

Article Abstract:

The World Health Organization recommends a short course of directly observed drug therapy (DOTS) for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). DOTS requires the patient to take anti-TB drugs in the presence of medical personnel to assure compliance with treatment. Failure to properly and consistently take anti-TB medication has promoted the development of multidrug-resistant TB. A survey of TB in Mexico revealed that approximately 12% of TB cases are resistant to first-line medication, and 50% of cases among those who had previous anti-TB treatment are resistant to first-line drugs.

Prevention, Surveys, Drug therapy, Tuberculosis, Drug resistance in microorganisms, Microbial drug resistance, Dosage and administration, World Health Organization, Antitubercular agents

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