Philip Benson; Physician Practiced While He Had AIDS

Philip Benson, 41, a physician who disclosed he had continued to practice medicine for nearly a year after learning he had AIDS. Benson found in September, 1990, that he had AIDS; he disclosed his condition in letters to patients in June, 1991, when he stopped practicing. He had practiced with open sores on his hands, caused by an unrelated skin condition, from May, 1990, through February, 1991. But health officials insisted that the risk of Benson spreading AIDS was extremely small because he always wore rubber gloves, sometimes two pairs. More than 1,000 patients Benson had treated were offered AIDS tests after Benson disclosed his condition. All tested negative. The only known case in the United States of an AIDS-stricken health care worker infecting patients is that of Florida dentist David Acer, who infected five people before he died, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In Shoreview, Minn., on Sept. 13 the complications of AIDS.