Florida Opens Dentist-AIDS Hot Line
Florida health authorities Friday set up a hot line and began offering AIDS tests to patients of another dentist who has the deadly virus.
The dentist in this case, H. Melton White, has practiced in the Miami area for 25 years. He retired because of the illness a few months ago.
No one is known to have contracted the HIV virus from White.
The case comes amid growing national debate over whether AIDS testing for health care workers should be mandatory.
Much of the controversy was sparked by the case of another Florida dentist, the late Dr. David Acer. He is believed to have infected five of his patients, including Kimberly Bergalis, a young Florida woman near death.
So far tests on patients of several other infected dentists around the country have been negative, and the Acer case remains the only one of its kind.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
