Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - September 24, 1986
A waiter or kitchen worker with acquired immune deficiency syndrome should only be taken off the job if there is "evidence of other infection or illness for which any food service worker should also be restricted," said the Secretary, Dr. Otis R. Bowen.
Dr. Bowen, a physician, told the National Restaurant Association: "All the epidemiologic and laboratory evidence we have indicates that blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections like AIDS are not transmitted during the preparation or serving of food or beverages. No instances of this happening with AIDS have been documented."
More than 25,000 Americans have developed AIDS, a lethal illness for which there is no vaccine or cure. Half have died, and none have fully recovered.
He said the public was facing two epidemics: AIDS itself and "a lack of information about it, or maybe worse yet, information that's inaccurate."
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