Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Saturday, May 8, 1999
Lisa Fernandez, Chronicle Staff Writer
Health officials say the risk of contracting AIDS from one of the needles inserted by phlebotomist Elaine Giorgi, who worked at SmithKline Beecham from mid- June 1997 to March 22, 1999, nevertheless is low.
The patients usually went to Stanford's Positive Care Clinic for blood draws, said the Stanford clinic's medical director, Dr. Andrew Zolopa.
He would not say how many times they went to SmithKline Beecham, which drew the blood and sent the blood tests to Stanford.
State Department of Health Services spokesman Ken August said having HIV-positive clients in the lab where needles were reused "potentially increases the risk" for other patients. Studies show, however, that a patient pricked by an HIV- contaminated needle has only a .3 of a percent chance of contracting the virus, which causes AIDS.
August also noted that Giorgi made "some effort" to clean the needles in a watery solution with hydrogen peroxide, and that the potential of getting a disease is lessened if the blood is drawn, as opposed to injected. August added that on some days Giorgi might not have worked because she was sick or on vacation.
SmithKline Beecham spokesman Tom Johnson said the lab was aware of the clients whose results came back positive for HIV and other diseases. But he declined to comment specifically about whether he knew about these Stanford patients -- or any other patients with communicable diseases -- citing reasons of confidentiality.
Johnson also declined to comment on another lawsuit filed n Santa Clara County Superior Court this week on behalf of a minor, Ryan K., who fears he may have contracted a disease from Giorgi, although the illness is undiagnosed.
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