The 1990 Florida Dental Investigation: Theory and Fact

In this issue, Barr shows that, in some quarters, the question of who transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to six dental patients in Florida in the late 1980s is still open.

Abstract

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.