THE 1990 FLORIDA DENTAL INVESTIGATION - THE PRESS AND THE SCIENCE

Since human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission from a dentist t o six of his patients was first reported in 1990 by the Florida Depart ment of Health and Rehabilitative Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, controversy and speculation have surrounded t he investigation of that case. This controversy has been fueled by the inability to determine exactly how the transmissions occurred. Many t heories have appeared in the media and have led to confusion and uncer tainty about the facts of this investigation. Recently, a magazine art icle and a newspaper article, as well as a segment on the television n ewsmagazine ''60 Minutes,'' presented information that was largely bas ed on findings by investigators hired as part of private litigation an d that cast doubt on the conclusion that the patients had been infecte d by the dentist. However, these reports omitted pertinent epidemiolog ic and laboratory evidence that shows that no other sources of HIV inf ection could be documented for the six dental patients. The scientific evidence indicates that the Florida dentist transmitted HIV to six of his patients.