AIDS Patient Infected by Dentist Dies

A man who contracted the AIDS virus from Florida dentist David J. Acer died Saturday of complications from the disease. He was 33.

Richard Driskill died of pancreatic failure, said his lawyer Robert Montgomery.

Driskill was one of six patients known to have been infected by Acer, who died in 1990. The first confirmed victim, Kimberly Bergalis, died at age 23 in 1991 after urging Congress to adopt mandatory AIDS testing for health workers, a position opposed by AIDS activists and the American Medical Assn.

Last month, officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified a sixth victim, Sherry Johnson, 18.

In an interview earlier this month, Driskill’s wife, Deanne, said her husband had wasted away to 110 pounds.

“We all know in the long run what this disease means,” she said. “My husband is 33 years old, and I’m watching him go down every day.”

Driskill, a citrus plant foreman, was referred to Acer by his insurance company. He had sued CIGNA Dental Health Plan of Florida, and the lawsuit was settled in February, 1992.

Acer continued to treat patients after learning he was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in 1986 and after developing AIDS symptoms in 1987.

CDC scientists in Atlanta determined that the HIV strain carried by the six patients matched Acer’s.

Health officials say Acer is the only doctor or dentist known to have infected a patient with the AIDS virus.