Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1984. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - December 12, 1984
Lawrence K. Altman
According to Federal, state and local hospital officials in Massachusetts, the patient is not a homosexual, drug abuser, hemophiliac or Haitian, which are the known risk factors for AIDS.
The investigation will center on how the patient, whose identity has been withheld at the request of his family, became infected with the disease, the officials said. Doctors and health care workers have been concerned getting the disease beause of their occupation, but there has as yet been no documented case of transmission of AIDS from patient to physician or health care employee.
The Boston laboratory worker is connected to a respirator and is in poor condition in an intensive care unit at the New England Medical Center. He told doctors that he recalled having been stuck by a needle at least once while drawing blood from a patient.
Diagnosis Made Recently
Dr. George F. Grady, epidemiologist for the Massachusetts Department of Health, said in an interview that the man worked for a commercial clinical laboratory.
The man became ill last spring, but the diagnosis of AIDS was made only in recent days, said Dr. Harold W. Jaffe, an AIDS researcher at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Dr. Grady stressed that there was only "indirect circumstantial evidence" that the patient developed AIDS as an occupational hazard.
Health officials have reported more than 7,000 cases of AIDS to the Centers for Disease Control since the syndrome was first recognized in 1981. Of that total, 232 were classified as health care workers, Dr. Jaffe said, but many of them did not have contact with AIDS patients or their biological samples.
Most in High-Risk Groups
All but 23 of the 232 belonged to groups that epidemiologists consider at high risk for AIDS. Dr. Jaffe said epidemiologists had made detailed studies of the 23 but could not provide strong evidence that any had developed the syndrome as an occupational hazard. Some had no known contact with patients or biological samples, he said, and others were dead by the time the epidemiologists could investigate.
Dr. Jaffe also said that in a separate study the Centers for Disease Control were following 326 health care workers to determine if they developed AIDS. So far, none have. Tests of 40 among the 326 have shown no evidence that any has developed a positive blood test against the retrovirus that is believed to cause the syndrome.
Dr. Jaffe said that about 100 health workers enrolled in studies at other medical centers had shown that none had developed a positive blood test.
"It's a little peculiar, and it makes you think that AIDS is not a very communicable disease," Dr. Jaffe added. "We're glad it's the case."
841212
NYT841206
Copyright © 1984 - The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved. All New York Times articles contained on the AEGiS web site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of The New York Times Company. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. However, you may download articles (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1984. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1984. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .