Miami Herald (MH) - Wednesday, June 5, 1991
Stephen Smith; Herald Staff Writer

The Veterans' Administration Miami hospital, which runs the Broward outpatient clinic, released the news Tuesday -- on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the first reported AIDS cases.

"We have no reason to believe anyone was infected by the dentist, but this is a process to go through to try to alleviate fears and do the necessary checks and get the information out," said Wayne Johnson, a top administrator at the VA Medical Center.

The agency refused to disclose the dentist's identity, citing federal privacy measures. Nor would it say how long he's been working at the Oakland Park clinic, at 5599 N. Dixie Highway.

VA workers were poring through computerized patient records Tuesday, determining which patients the doctor treated. They'll be examining records from the past "several years," Johnson said. Federal and state health agencies were notified Tuesday.

When a list of patients is compiled, the VA will send them letters explaining what's happened and offering free blood tests and counseling at the clinic. The letters should be mailed by the end of this week, Johnson said.

Hundreds of South Florida parents got similar letters this spring when an orthodontist with offices in Wellington and Davie revealed he had the AIDS virus. More than 600 of his patients endured blood tests -- and those tests showed that nobody had caught the virus from the orthodontist.

The federal Centers for Disease Control reports only three documented cases of patients getting the AIDS virus -- known as HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus -- from a health worker. All three of those cases are in Martin County, and all three stem from the practice of Dr. David Acer, a Stuart dentist who died from AIDS.

"The risk of becoming HIV-infected from a health-care procedure is truly remote," said Paul Arons, medical director for the state's AIDS program. "On a list of risks associated with medical care, this is way down on the list of concerns."

A controversial study by the CDC, released earlier this year, estimated that a patient's chance of dying from a reaction to anesthesia is one in 100,000. The risk of catching the AIDS virus from a dentist: One in 263,158.

Doctors at the VA clinic in Oakland Park follow strict procedures designed by the CDC to protect against the spread of the AIDS virus, Johnson said. They sterilize medical equipment and wear gloves and masks.

The dentist is on leave, Johnson said, and when he returns to work will be assigned to a job that doesn't directly involve treating patients.

The news spread slowly among the knot of veterans who belong to American Legion Post 222 in Oakland Park, some of whose members go to the clinic. The outgoing commander heard about it on the 6 o'clock news. The incoming commander hadn't heard at all.

But they both expected the same reactions from their members: These are men and women who have been in wars, they said. This is barely a skirmish.

"I don't think it should scare anyone," said Sal Paradise, the incoming commander. "Of course, the possibility's always there."

The next regular meeting of Post 222 is a week from today. Outgoing Cmdr. Andy Buchta knows this will be the talk of the veterans.

"But I don't think this is going to get anybody shook up much," said Buchta, a veteran of World War II. "It's just one of those things that you wonder: 'Where in the hell is this thing going to end?' "

Herald staff writer Anne Bartlett contributed to this report.
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