PubMed · 3374399
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K E Rowe. 1988. A valiant effort.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3374399/
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Because immunosuppression induced by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection increases the likelihood that latent tuberculosis (TB) infection will become active in HIV-infected persons (1,2), in 1987, extrapulmonary or disseminated TB was added to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) surveillance case definition (3), and in 1993, pulmonary TB in HIV-infected persons was added to the case definition (4). In Florida and other areas (5), AIDS surveillance activities include assessment of the completeness and validity of reported cases based on confidential record linkages with the TB registry and other disease registries. In December 1993, the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) matched cases from the AIDS and TB registries to verify documented TB data, include more complete TB data on the AIDS registry, and identify cases from the AIDS registry with unreported TB. This report summarizes an analysis of this match, which underscored the need for collaboration and crosstraining of surveillance staff in AIDS and TB reporting.
In 1994, a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a segment of the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes presented information that cast doubt on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's conclusion that a dentist in Florida had infected six of his patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These reports were based on previously unavailable documentary evidence, which suggested that the infected patients had unreported or undetected risk factors for HIV infection and that the molecular analyses used to determine that the dentist and his patients had the same strains of HIV had potentially serious flaws. A recent article in this journal sought to dismiss the relevance of this information in the eyes of the scientific community. That report, however, failed to respond directly to many key pieces of evidence, and it offered no rebuttal beyond personal invective and a reassertion of previously published material. Although scientists and clinicians should not rely solely on media reports when drawing conclusions about this complex and controversial case, they deserve a chance to consider and reflect on this material in a meaningful way.
Controversy remains about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) conclusion that a dentist in Florida transmitted human immunodeficiency virus to six of his patients in the late 1980s. The most vocal doubt has come from journalists affiliated with the television program 60 Minutes. Although unanswered questions about the case remain, the evidence continues to overwhelmingly support the CDC's theory. The criticism of the CDC investigation consists largely of assertions that contrary evidence theoretically might exist.